Barriers and interventions on the way to empower women through financial inclusion: a 2 decades systematic review (2000–2020)

This study aims to reduce ambiguity in theoretical and empirical underpinning by synthesizing various knowledge concepts through a systematic review of barriers and interventions to promote the financial inclusion of women. The surrounding literature is vast, complex, and difficult to comprehend, necessitating frequent reviews. However, due to the sheer size of the literature, such reviews are generally fragmented focusing only on the factors causing the financial exclusion of women while ignoring the interventions that have been discussed all along. Filling up this gap, this study attempts to provide a bird’s-view to systematically connect all the factors as well as mediations found in past studies with the present and future. PRISMA approach has been used to explain various inclusions and exclusions extracted from Scopus & WOS databases with the backward and forward searches of important studies. Collaborative peer review selection with a qualitative synthesis of results is used to explain various barriers and interventions in financial inclusion that affected women’s empowerment in the period 2000–2020. Out of 1740 records identified, 67 studies are found eligible based on systematic screening for detailed investigation. This study has identified patriarchy structures, psychological factors, low income/wages, low financial literacy, low financial accessibility and ethnicity as six prominent barriers and government & corporate programs/policies, microfinance, formal saving accounts & services, cash & asset transfer, self-help groups, and digital inclusion as six leading interventions to summarize the literature and highlight its gaps.