The Impact of Corporate Governance on Women's Financial Inclusion and Economic Empowerment in Selected Ethiopian Private Commercial Banks located in Addis Ababa
Abstract:
This
study examined the effect of corporate governance on women's financial
inclusion and economic empowerment in Addis Ababa's private commercial banks.
Utilizing a mixed-methods approach and both primary and secondary data, the
research employed descriptive and inferential statistics like Pearson
correlation and regression to analyze the relationships between variables. The
findings revealed several challenges. There was a notable lack of saving
promotion for women through various media, despite banks’ general efforts to
boost savings. While banks discussed women's credit policies, women's
participation in decision-making and accountability for financial inclusion
plans were major issues. The study also found that despite a well-organized
female workforce, there was a shortage of influential female leadership,
knowledgeable staff for complex tasks, and sufficient training to bridge skill
gaps. Additionally, while relevant digital financial service information was
provided, it often lacked timeliness, completeness, and user-friendliness.
Customer relations were also found to be deficient, with a failure to properly
address customer feedback, arrange meetings, and recognize or award female
customers. Ultimately, the study concluded that initiatives focused on
increasing savings, improving access to credit, boosting female labor force
participation, and enhancing digital financial services have a significant
positive impact on women's financial inclusion and economic empowerment.
References:
[1]. Al-Mamun,
A., Wahab, E. A. A., Mazumder, M. N. H., Su, Z., 2025, Board characteristics
and performance of Islamic banks in Malaysia. Journal of Islamic Finance,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348921358_Board_Characteristics_and_Islamic_Bank_Performance#fullTextFileContent
, doi; 10.35313/ijabr.v3i1.123.
[2]. Aldana, U.,
Boyd, R., 2025, Empowerment and microfinance: Evidence from Latin America.
International Journal of Development. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348921358_Board_Characteristics_and_Islamic_Bank_Performance#fullTextFileContent.
[3]. Alla, M.,
2025, Corporate Governance, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319983192_Corporate_Governance,
DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.69704
[4]. Ayatakshi-Endow,
S., Steele, M., 2025, Financial behavior and empowerment. Journal of
Economic Psychology, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-economic-psychology.
[5]. Barrett,
M., 2025, Women’s empowerment and gender relations. Gender & Society,
https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gas
[6]. Bateman,
M., 2025, The role of microfinance in development. Development Policy Review.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14677679
[7]. Belai, G.,
2025, Economic Policy and Development Strategy in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa
University Press, https://libcat.aau.edu.et/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=284953.
[8]. Bhattacherjee,
A., 2025, Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. Textbooks
in Social Sciences, https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=oa_textbooks
[9]. Bruno,
Alessandro., 2025, Corporate governance in the banking sector. Journal of
Banking Regulation, https://link.springer.com/journal/41261.
[10]. Bozkurt,
O., et al., 2025, Gender and finance: A global perspective. International
Journal of Finance, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386169182_Gendered_Social_Norms_and_Financial_Inclusion_in_Turkey.
[11]. Brownbridge,
M., Harvey, C., 2025, Banking in Africa: The impact of financial sector reform
since independence. African Economic Research Consortium, https://aercafrica.org/publication/journal/.
[12]. Bruhn, M.,
Love, I., 2025, Gender, financial inclusion and economic development. Journal
of Development Economics, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-development-economics.
[13]. Burak, A.,
2025, Corporate governance in emerging markets. Emerging Markets Review,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/emerging-markets-review.
[14]. Cadbury,
A., 2025, Corporate Governance Handbook. Oxford University Press, https://corp.oup.com/.
[15]. Churchill,
N., Iacobucci, D., 2025, Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations. Cengage
Learning, https://www.cengage.com/.
[16]. Claessens,
S., 2025, Corporate governance and development. Global Corporate Governance
Forum, https://www.ifc.org/en/insights-reports/2000/discussion-papers.
[17]. Claessens,
S., 2025, Corporate governance and regulation. Journal of Finance and
Management, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23550136_Corporate_Governance_and_Regulation_Can_There_be_too_Much_of_a_Good_Thing.
[18]. Coleman,
S., 2025, Financial literacy and women's economic empowerment. Journal of
Consumer Affairs, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17456606.
[19]. Creswell,
J. W., 2025, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches. SAGE Publications, https://www.sagepub.com/.
[20]. Davis, J.,
Schoorman, D., Donaldson, L., 1997, Toward a stewardship theory of Management
Team. Academy of Management Team Review, 22(1):20–47, doi:
10.5465/amr.1997.9707180258.
[21]. De
Andrés-Alonso, P., Santamaría-Mariscal, M., 2025, Corporate governance
mechanisms and firm performance. European
Management Journal, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/european-management-journal.
[22]. Donalds,
T., Preston, J., 2025, The stakeholder theory of the corporation. Academy of
Management Review, https://journals.aom.org/journal/amr.
[23]. Donaldson,
L., Davis, J. H., 2025, Stewardship theory or agency theory. Australian
Journal of Management, https://journals.sagepub.com/home/aum.
[24]. Duvendack,
M., et al., 2025, Systematic review: The impact of microfinance. Journal of
Development Effectiveness, https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjde20/current.
[25]. Gregory, H.
J., Simms, M. E., 2025, Corporate governance: What it is and why it matters. McKinsey
Quarterly, https://www.mckinsey.com/quarterly/overview.
[26]. Holloway,
K., et al., 2025, Women's economic empowerment and financial inclusion. International
Development Review, https://www.findevgateway.org/paper/2017/03/womens-economic-empowerment-through-financial-inclusion-review-existing-evidence-and.
[27]. Jayachandran,
S., 2015, The roots of gender inequality in developing countries. Annual
Review of Economics, 7(1):63–88, doi:
10.1146/annurev-economics-080614-115404.
[28]. Jensen, M.
C., Meckling, W. H., 1976, Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency
costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics,
3(4):305–360, doi: 10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X.
[29]. John, K.,
Senbet, L. W., 2025, Corporate governance and board impactness. Journal of
Banking and Finance, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-banking-and-finance.
[30]. Kefyalew,
G., Dagnachew, B., 2025, Corporate governance and its impacts on financial
performance of banks evidence from selected private commercial banks in
Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Business, https://academicjournals.org/journal/JEIF/article-abstract/15F0F6F64964.
[31]. Nathan, R.,
et al., 2025, Financial inclusion of women in developing countries. Journal
of Financial Services Research, https://link.springer.com/journal/10693.
[32]. Sanjaya,
W., Nursechafia, I., 2025, Corporate governance in Indonesia. Indonesian
Management Review, https://ssek.com/blog/corporate-governance-in-indonesia-management-of-a-company/.
[33]. Trivelli,
C., de los Rios, C., 2025, Women and financial inclusion in Latin America. Latin
American Research Review, https://china.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781789903874/book-part-9781789903874-27.pdf.
[34]. Winter, S. G., 2025, On Coase, competence, and the corporation. Journal of Institutional Economics, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics.
