{
  "id": 3049776,
  "title": "Women have bank accounts, but digital finance gap limits access to platform work: ILO-NCAER",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/women-have-bank-accounts-but-digital-finance-gap-limits-access-to",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-24T14:54:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/india/women-financial-inclusion-digital-financial-inclusion-women-platform-workers-gender-gap-11787577088725.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Despite India nearly eliminating the gender gap in basic bank account ownership, women continue to face significant barriers in digital financial capability and credit access, hindering their participation in the rapidly growing platform economy, according to a new ILO-NCAER policy brief. The study finds that digital financial inclusion is crucial for enabling decent work for women in the platform economy, which encompasses various services such as ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, and e-commerce. However, women remain underrepresented in platform work, with less than 1% of two-wheeler delivery drivers being women in urban India. Women's participation is limited by gaps in skills and digital literacy, safety concerns, restrictive social norms, and exclusion from formal financial services. While women's bank account ownership has nearly closed the gender gap, only 25.2% of women could perform online banking transactions compared to 47.1% of men. Additionally, only 18% of women possess all three digital financial skills, compared to 30.1% of men. Rural India shows an even larger gap, with only 17.1% of women able to undertake online banking, compared to 39.2% of men. The gender gap also extends to mobile money, where 14% of women have an account, compared to 32% of men, an 18-percentage-point difference. The report highlights that women need a combination of start-up capital, savings, insurance, and long-term financial tools to build assets and secure their economic future in the platform economy.",
  "summary": "The findings of the study assume significance as the number of platform workers in India has risen from an estimated 7.7 million in 2020 to 12 million in FY25",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}