1. THE GENDER GAP IN THE USE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES IN TURKEY
Leora Klapper, Sandeep Singh, Ana Maria Munoz Boudet

2. Financial inclusion in Turkey is high as compared to a wide range of comparison groups
58%
42%
43%
20%
51%
90%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Turkey
ECA
MIC
Islamic
BRIC
OECD
Women
Is there an access constraint? Not really. The reach of the financial sector in Turkey is wide—as measured by account penetration, use of electronic payments, and credit card ownership—relative to both developing and high-income countries.
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

3. Yet the gender gap in account penetration is significantly larger than comparable groups
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Turkey
ECA
MIC
Islamic
BRIC
OECD
Men
Women
49
11
9
Turkey has the widest gap among middle-income countries. Estimates show that women in Turkey are 38 percentage points less likely than men to have an account, after controlling for other individual characteristics- income, employment, education, age.
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

4. What explains account ownership for men and women in Turkey?
- log odds
+ log odds
Women with more than a primary education are more likely to be banked, but this relationship between education and financial inclusion is not true for men.

5. Account ownership increases with income for women, but this ‘income gap’ does not exist among men
26.5%
41.1%
54.8%
22.7%
39.8%
49.9%
60.7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Poorest quntile
2nd
3rd
4th
Richest quintile
Income
Turkish Men
Turkish Women
MIC Men
MIC Women
Across middle-income countries, we see a relationship between income and financial inclusion, but not among Turkish men.
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

6. There is an increasing use of bank accounts among young women (who are also more educated)
71.6%
44.4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Turkey
ECA
MIC
OECD
Age 18-24
Age 25-64
Age 65+
The ‘typical’ female account holder is younger than the respective male.

7. Female labor force participation is higher for
younger cohorts of women
Source: TURKSTAT LFS (1992,97,2002,2007,2012). Data labels represent year of birth.
1983-87
1978-82
1973-77
1968-72
1963-67
1958-62
1953-57
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
Age Group
Still low levels

8. And being wage employed in Turkey increases the probability of owning an account…
…by 17 percentage points for men—but 74 percentage points for women. Being self-employed also increases the likelihood of women to own a bank account.
Men
Women
% Own Bank Account
Obs
%
Obs
%
Men
Women
Employed (full or part time)
195
34.4%
67
10.7%
94.3%
97.9%
Unemployed
30
6.8%
14
2.3%
53.2%
32.4%
Self employed
112
21.7%
14
2.7%
93.2%
92.2%
Out of workforce
185
37.1%
382
84.3%
69.5%
22.6%
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

9. But only 30% of women participate in the labor force…
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
Women
Men
Unpaid family worker
Self-employed
Employer
Employee
…and only half of them are in wage employment, and 10% are own-account workers
Source: TURKSTAT, LFS (2009-2013)

10. Both men and women are most likely to use their accounts to receive wages
Turkish women use their accounts to receive money from family and friends more often than men. Men and women deposit about 2 times a month into their accounts, and 98% of the banked adults has a debit card, higher than the average across middle income countries of 57%.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Turkey
ECA
MIC
BRIC
Islamic
OECD
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Turkey
ECA
MIC
BRIC
Islamic
OECD
Men
Women
Money from family
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

11. Turkish men and women cite similar reasons for not having an account.
Income-related issues are highly cited, followed by access-related issues. Personal choice issues like lack of trust are higher for Turkey than the average of other MIC.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Too far away
Too expensive
Lack of
necessary
documentation
Lack of Trust
Not enough
money
Religious
reasons
Family member
already has an
account
Turkish Men
Turkish Women
MIC
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

12. Turkey has a low rate of personal savings when compared with other countries
Only 10% of Turkish adults report saving. Domestic savings declined from an average of 23.5% of GNI in the 1990’s to an average of 17% on 2000-08 period, and to 12.7% in 2010.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Turkey
ECA
MIC
OECD
Savings - Formal only
Savings - Formal and Semi-formal
Savings - Semi-formal only
Savings - Other only
Formal savings are lower among women
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

13. Only 5 percent of adults in Turkey report borrowing from a bank, credit union or MFI in the past year.
The use of store credit is much higher in Turkey. The low use of bank financing might be explained by the very high use of store credit reported by 43 percent of Turkish adults.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
OECD
BRIC
Islamic
MIC
ECA
Turkey
Credit - Bank
Credit - Store credit (no bank credit)
Credit card user (no bank or store credit)
Store credit (no Bank)
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

14. The main source of credit for men and women in Turkey are friends and family.
The most common reported reasons for taking out a loan in Turkey include emergencies or health purposes (44%), to pay school fees (31%), or to extend or repair one’s home (18%).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
OECD
BRIC
Islamic
MIC
ECA
Turkey
Credit - Formal only
Credit - Formal and Informal
Credit - Informal only
Source: Global Findex; Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper, 2012

15. Gender Gap in Account Penetration and Legal and
Cultural Norms
Panel A: Women, Business and the Law Panel B: World Economic Forum
Panel A shows a weak relationship between legal restrictions to female employment and a gender gap
in financial inclusion. Panel B shows a de facto measure of gender inequality, Turkey fares low on both
ends.
Saudi Arabia

16. Implications for policies and actions….
•Banking penetration is not paying off for the bank sector – investment to increase presence across the country has not expanded user base.
•Store credit use (largely an informal practice) and credit card use will not reflect in greater financial knowledge or awareness
•Shared bank-accounts are not always conducive to women’s financial knowledge and independence, reduces their decision- making capacity and business creation initiative.
•Kenya: Individuals accounts= + total individual owned resources (income and assets) + rates of entrepreneurship.
•Joint bank accounts= no dif. income, no dif. entrepreneurship. + investment in household reparations (higher agreement, lower returns)
•Savings and future income shocks: Lack of control of own savings, ability to access savings, lose of savings

17. Some policy options for public and private sector
•Start early: School-based financial education and savings programs targeting girls to build financial capabilities and interest early on.
•Meaningful financial services for women’s needs and use:
•Brazil: electronic accounts for Brazilians working abroad who want to send remittances home direct from a host-country credit card at lower transfer cost than traditional channels, to feed accounts of relatives in the country.
•Generation of commitment saving products (based on date, funds level or purpose -school fees)
•Target the constraints:
•Simplified bank account regime for clients with small balances at no cost, easy to open- with basic credit approved in pre-agreement.
•Incentives alongside information and knowledge to break beliefs. The importance of planning for the future- show how savings would grow.