GENDER INEQUALITY IN BANKING SERVICES IN INDIA: A NOTE

Gender inequality pervades developed and developing societies in varying forms and degrees. Women in general, and poor women in particular, are deprived of basic economic opportunities and entitlements that are widely available to men. There are large disparities between men and women in terms of access to basic facilities, such as nutrition, health and education, as well as access to employment and ownership of various means of production.1 One such form of gender inequality is with regard to the access to banking services. The need to provide bank credit to women on an equitable basis has been frequently highlighted in the literature. Lack of credit constrains economic opportunities available to women – personally and to their households – resulting in deepening their economic and social deprivation.2 In recent years, there have been policy efforts towards enhancing the access to bank credit and deposits for women with the help of micro finance, or finance to Self Help Groups (SHGs). The recent policy for financial inclusion in India regards micro finance as an important means of including social groups that have remained outside the ambit of the banking system.3 This brief note is a preliminary attempt to understand the extent and nature of gender inequality in the provision of banking services in India. There have, of course, been a number of studies documenting the so-called success of micro finance in the country.4 However, most of these studies have only highlighted the increasing number of women ∗ The author thanks Madhura Swaminathan and R. Ramakumar for useful comments on a draft of this note. The views expressed in the note are personal and not of the organisation to which the author is associated. 1 See Sen (2001) for an exposition of the various forms of gender inequality in developed and developing countries. 2 See the objectives stated in the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held at Beijing in 1995 a