What do we mean when we talk about the power of data?
Data allows FSPs to better understand and size markets, which can lead to increased customer-centricity, the development of innovative products, better allocation of resources internally to focus on new segments and increased differentiation as a brand. All of this helps FSPs increase their competitive advantage and to respond proactively to market opportunities.
And what about the power of sex-disaggregated data?
Sex-disaggregated data has an additional benefit: It gives FSPs the capacity to adjust the lens through which they typically see women as customers and employees and compels them to adjust their strategies accordingly. On a larger scale, sex-disaggregated data can shift the financial services sector toward a more gender-balanced approach that understands and responds to missed opportunities for engaging women as customers and employees.
Every year, you — Alliance members — report back to us on key sex-disaggregated indicators that demonstrate how your women-centered strategies are progressing. We use this data to help your organization take advantage of the opportunity in the female economy and to build the case for shifting the sector towards gender parity.
The information you provide also enables us to make the business case for FSPs to develop women-centered strategies on the global scale. For instance, the survey data tells us that across regions, women are exceptionally good repayers, but they continue to be underserved in terms of number and volume of loans (at 66 percent of men’s average loan size).
The data also shows that women are growing fast as a segment — reflecting a significant, yet still largely untapped, opportunity for FSPs. From 2017 to 2019, customer growth rate for Alliance members’ female customer bases outpaced male customers, as did growth in credit and deposits.
These and other key stats will be published in the forthcoming Economics of Banking on Women report — the annual report that highlights key statistics that build the business case for serving the female economy.
This report and related advocacy efforts are only possible because of the members that generously shared their data with us. For the past two years, we’ve had just shy of 70 percent of our members reporting and this year, we would like to get to 100 percent.
If a primary contact at your FSP has not yet received the link to the 2020 Female Economy Analytics survey and a unique username and password, please reach out to the Data@financialallianceforwomen.org account or any member of the Alliance team.
More questions about the survey? Reach out to Data@financialallianceforwomen.org. We’d love to hear from you.
