Peru pushes for greater financial inclusion for women in APEC region

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JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Peru’s Minister of Women and Vulnerable Groups Angela Teresa Hernandez Cajo called on the APEC region to increase financial inclusion of women.

“If we do not include women, our economies will lose nearly 50 percent of their population’s potential,” Minister Hernández said in Arequipa at the opening of a public-private dialogue on promoting women’s economic empowerment, according to a press release issued Friday by the APEC Secretariat.

The conversation focused on the inclusion of women in finance as a pillar of economic development and the role of technology in reducing and eliminating violence against women.

In her speech, Hernandez said that although financial inclusion is a powerful tool that can change lives and promote equality and economic growth, only two in ten women in Latin America are fully integrated into the financial system.

“We still have a lot of work to do. Several of our economies still have laws requiring women to get their spouse’s consent to work or require their spouse’s signature to access financial markets,” she said.

According to the APEC Dashboard on Women and the Economy, only nine economies have laws prohibiting creditors from discriminating on the basis of gender in access to credit.

“Even if they manage to obtain loans, the amounts are often insufficient to meet their financial needs, as they can hardly prove that they own property or have a significant or sustained income to support their requests. Starting, expanding, strengthening and formalizing businesses has proven to be a complex challenge for women and difficult to achieve,” Hernandez stressed.

“Barriers that prevent women from participating equally in economic growth remain. As a result, they spend more time doing unpaid care work than their male counterparts, who do not have services that allow them to participate in paid work,” she noted.

She also stressed that the financial system plays a crucial role, as financial inclusion can significantly increase women’s economic participation, both through their firms and enterprises, as well as in holding decision-making positions and leading production and business processes that have broad impacts on member economies.

“Sustainable development is not possible if women are excluded because society assumes that they must postpone their expectations and plans, taking on the burden of caring for children as their sole responsibility,” Hernandez stressed.

Experts also explored the role of technology and innovation in preventing violence against women and girls, sharing best practices and cases in leveraging artificial intelligence and policies to promote violence-free environments, and how to build public-private partnerships to advance these efforts.

“The use of technological tools can pose risks and have negative consequences for people and businesses, so continuous preventive action is needed. Peru has extensive experience in using technology and the internet to prevent violence,” commented Hernández.

“We are here not just as participants, but as active parts of an alliance committed to building a future where women are economically empowered and more integrated into the Asia-Pacific economy – making equality a tangible reality that brings positive change to the lives of women and their families, and in turn transforms our economies and societies,” she concluded.

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