Digital IDs
In developing countries, the lack of official identification (ID) disproportionately affects women. In lower income countries, 45 percent of women lack ID compared to 30 percent of men. This is because women can face more and higher barriers to obtaining ID, including restrictions on freedom of travel, a reduced ability to bear the financial cost, time poverty resulting from domestic responsibilities, higher rates of illiteracy, a lack of awareness about the benefits of having an ID, and opposition from other family members. A lack of ID lowers access to employment opportunities, educational opportunities, voting registries, health and social welfare benefits, or financial services (especially with large transactions such as mortgages).
- Opportunity
- high
Opportunity for step-change in women’s access to financial, health, educational, social and political services
- Risk
- medium
Risk of women being excluded from mainstream commerce and government services.
- Opportunity
- high
- Risk
- medium
Lack of official ID disproportionately affects women in developing countries (in lower income countries, 45 percent of women lack ID compared to 30 percent of men). Women often face more and higher barriers to obtaining IDs (e.g. restrictions on freedom to travel outside the home or community; distance; financial cost; time constraints; illiteracy; lack of information and lack of awareness; and opposition from other family members). Proof of identity is also needed for women to access financial services. Consequently, Global Findex shows that worldwide, 42 percent of women are ‘unbanked’ (without access to a bank or financial services organisation) compared with 35 percent of men.
Gender-smart investors can support investees to increase women’s access to IDs and/or reduce the extent to which lack of an ID inhibits their access to services by helping them:
- Invest in alternatives to traditional identification (e.g. biometric fingerprint or iris scanning).
- Introduce means of cross-checking identification when individuals lack a formal ID card (e.g. references from trusted community leaders, increased collateral requirements, confirmation based on soft-checks of online profiles, etc).
- Partner with governments and non-governmental organisations to initiate ID uptake drives in high importance client profiles.
- Raise awareness with customer communities of the importance of obtaining official identification.
- Use their databases to build customer’s credit and service use profiles. For example, OGS generates significant quantities of data, but companies often do not share this with FIs. A similar situation exists in the food and agriculture secotr, associated with input providers, buyers and produce marketers.
Sources: http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/953621531854471275/Global-ID-Coverage-Barriers-and-Use-by-the-Numbers-Insights-from-the-ID4D-Findex-Survey.pdf https://blogs.worldbank.org/digital-development/identification-development-its-potential-empowering-women-and-girls
- Opportunity
- low
While not directly part of the women’s economic empowerment agenda, more widespread use of digital IDs can potentially reduce child labour in sectors prone to exploitation, advancing the wider inclusion agenda.
- Opportunity
- high
- Risk
- medium
People with no identity are often unable to access public educational opportunities.
See the FI note for examples of steps that gender-smart investors can take to increase women’s access to IDs and to reduce the extent to which the lack of an ID inhibits access to services.
- Opportunity
- high
- Risk
- medium
Lack of official ID disproportionately affects women in developing countries (in lower income countries, 45 percent of women lack ID compared to 30 percent of men). “People with no identity are [often] unable to access educational opportunities, financial services, health and social welfare benefits.”
Gender-smart investors can support investees to increase women’s access to IDs and/or reduce the extent to which lack of an ID inhibits their access to services by helping them:
- Invest in alternatives to traditional identification (e.g. biometric fingerprint or iris scanning).
- Introduce means of cross-checking identification when individuals lack a formal ID card (e.g. references from trusted community leaders, increased collateral requirements, confirmation based on soft-checks of online profiles, etc).
- Partner with governments and non-governmental organisations to initiate ID uptake drives in high importance client profiles.
- Raise awareness with customer communities of the importance of obtaining official identification.
- Use their databases to build customer’s credit and service use profiles. For example, OGS generates significant quantities of data, but companies often do not share this with FIs. A similar situation exists in the food and agriculture sector, associated with input providers, buyers and produce marketers.
Source: http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/21571460567481655/April-2016-ID4D-Strategic-RoadmapID4D.pdf
- Opportunity
- medium
- Risk
- medium
OGS products are often purchased on credit.
Access to credit is more difficult for women in developing countries – Global Findex shows that worldwide, 42 percent of women are ‘unbanked’ (without access to a bank or financial services organisation) compared with 35 percent of men.
Digital IDs are a crucial step towards financial access from formal institutions, providing women with a credit history by ensuring their borrowing activities are linked to a digital record.
Gender-smart investors can support investees to increase women’s access to IDs and/or reduce the extent to which lack of an ID inhibits their access to services by helping them:
- Invest in alternatives to traditional identification (e.g. biometric fingerprint or iris scanning).
- Introduce means of cross-checking identification when individuals lack a formal ID card (e.g. references from trusted community leaders, increased collateral requirements, confirmation based on soft-checks of online profiles, etc).
- Partner with governments and non-governmental organisations to initiate ID uptake drives in high importance client profiles.
- Raise awareness with customer communities of the importance of obtaining official identification.
- Use their databases to build customer’s credit and service use profiles. For example, OGS generates significant quantities of data, but companies often do not share this with FIs. A similar situation exists in the food and agriculture sector, associated with input providers, buyers and produce marketers.
- Opportunity
- high
- Risk
- medium
Women make up 45-80 percent (depending in the region and the supply chain) of the food-producing workforce in developing countries, and just under half of all African smallholders are women.
Within the outgrower/contract farming model, men are often the ‘registered’ outgrowers (and the ones who get paid) even where it is women doing the labour.
“Smallholders continue to be credit constrained, so they miss opportunities to adopt productivity-enhancing projects requiring greater cash outlays but offering the prospect of higher yields and farm incomes”.
A primary constraint is the lack of a credit or spending history. Digital IDs are important because they ensure women’s borrowing and purchasing activities are linked to a digital record, building a credit base that makes it easier to obtain credit and asset-backed loans.
Gender-smart investors can support investees to increase women’s access to IDs and/or reduce the extent to which lack of an ID inhibits their access to services by helping them:
- Invest in alternatives to traditional identification (e.g. biometric fingerprint or iris scanning).
- Introduce means of cross-checking identification when individuals lack a formal ID card (e.g. references from trusted community leaders, increased collateral requirements, confirmation based on soft-checks of online profiles, etc).
- Partner with governments and non-governmental organisations to initiate ID uptake drives in high importance client profiles.
- Raise awareness with customer communities of the importance of obtaining official identification.
- Use their databases to build customer’s credit and service use profiles. For example, OGS generates significant quantities of data, but companies often do not share this with FIs. A similar situation exists in the food and agriculture sector, associated with input providers, buyers and produce marketers.
- Opportunity
- medium
- Risk
- medium
Smart cities and the increasing gentrification of urban areas risk more homeless people, particularly women, who often have lower ownership and real estate resilience than men. As a result, governments are under increasing pressure to recognise women’s right to housing.
IDs, particularly digital IDs, are crucial to prove eligibility for affordable housing and can increase efficiency in the public housing process.
