Gender Disparities in Financial Inclusion Among MicroTraders: A Case Study of Lusaka, Zambia.

Background: Financial inclusion, a factor driving sustainable and inclusive growth, has been a growing trend, with most research focusing on establishing the link between financial inclusion and economic development. Although Zambia has made progress in expanding access to financial products and services, gender disparities in financial inclusion remain. Materials and Methods: This study used a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) to assess gender disparities in financial inclusion among micro traders in the Lusaka district capital city. Acrosssectional design was used: 600 micro-traders were interviewed using a structured survey to generate quantitative data, and qualitative data were collected from 5 market leaders across the 5 markets visited. The research used two econometric models for quantitative data: binary regression and multinomial logistic regression, to examine whether gender disparities exist in financial inclusion, with a focus on the preference for either formal or informal financial products and services. Results: The empirical findings showed that the sex variable was the strongest predictor of informal financial service preference among female micro-traders, with odds 2.53 times higher than those of male micro-traders (P < 0.001). Regarding awareness of formal services among micro-traders, female micro-traders had about 50% lower odds of being aware of formal financial products than male micro-traders (β = 0.495, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Female micro-traders are more likely to use informal financial services and products than male micro-traders. Some of the factors included the trust female micro-traders placed in informal financial services over formal financial services