Women’s financial literacy: What is key to meaningful financial inclusion?

• by Melya Findi Astuti
• Jun 25, 2025
• 3 min

Despite significant progress in financial inclusion, many female informal workers in Indonesia struggle to use financial services due to limited financial literacy. If stakeholders are to truly empower these women, they must create financial inclusion initiatives grounded in gender-responsive and context-specific solutions that reflect women’s lived experiences and economic roles. Meaningful inclusion must prioritize financial literacy and build women’s confidence to manage their finances. Read on to explore how Indonesia can strengthen financial literacy among female informal workers.

Over the past decade, Indonesia has made significant progress in the effort for financial inclusion. The 2025 national survey on financial literacy and inclusion (SNLIK), released on 2 May 2025 by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), revealed that national financial inclusion had reached 80.51%. However, only 66.46% of the population manages to use financial services effectively. This 14.05% gap indicates a fundamental challenge in the financial inclusion efforts. Additionally, access to financial services has also not kept pace with the increased literacy or the ability to use them meaningfully.

In 2023, MSC conducted the study “Women in the digital economy: Improving job access for informal women workers in the digital economy” in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPPA). The study revealed that 90% of informal women workers who use digital platforms had financial accounts. However, most lacked the knowledge to manage their finances effectively, safely, and efficiently.

This financial gap deepens the vulnerability of informal women workers in the economic system. Most of these women work over 40 hours a week in paid employment and an additional 20 hours per week in unpaid care work, which includes taking care of the household and children.

These are double burdens that have contributed to the persistent gender gap in labor force participation over the past decade. BPS data from 2024 reveals that the labor force participation rate (LFPR) in Indonesia for men is 84.66%, while for women, it is only 56.42%. This 28.24% gap shows that financial literacy is linked to gender issues and domestic roles.

Why is financial inclusion beyond having a bank account?

Financial inclusion is often defined as simply having a financial account. In practice, the essence of financial inclusion lies in how financial services can be effectively used to help individuals manage their finances, reduce risks, and support life goals.

MSC’s study highlights that increasing access to financial services will not be impactful unless adequate public awareness is provided to manage these financial tools. Therefore, financial literacy must be positioned as a core component in every financial inclusion initiative and program.

In the informal sector, where many women work, access to social protection, information, and financial education is often limited. This is why improving women’s financial literacy is not merely a choice; it has become necessary.

Strategic recommendations: from study to real action

MSC’s comprehensive framework on the financial services space, or the gender centrality framework, addresses women’s financial literacy challenges. It was designed to ensure that financial services are accessible, relevant, user-friendly, and sustainable for women. Such an approach places local context, women’s dual roles, and household decision-making dynamics at the heart of financial solution design.

The Small Firm Diaries research conducted by MSC in Indonesia concludes three strategic recommendations to elevate women’s financial literacy as a national priority:

1. Integrate financial literacy into every financial inclusion program, not as an add-on but as a foundational element.
2. Apply a gender-sensitive and local context-based approach that considers women’s socio-economic realities and the specific barriers they face.
3. Introduce sustained multi-stakeholder collaboration that includes public and private sectors, civil society organizations, and local communities.

At the 2025 Indonesia International Financial Inclusion Summit (IFIS), the government set a target of 91% financial inclusion by the end of 2025 and 98% by 2045. However, achieving this goal is insufficient if efforts are only focused on numbers. The accurate measure of success lies in whether every individual, including informal women workers, can understand, choose, and use financial services to meet their life needs.

Empowering women to use financial services is not just a metric—it is the foundation of a fair, inclusive, and sustainable financial system. As the digital economy expands, leaving women behind is not an option. It must be a shared responsibility.

This article was first published on the Kumparan platform on 5th June 2025.