Data on gender differences in access to financial services are scarce. Available estimates suggest that the poor in general have little access to finance, and that women in particular have less access than men. Women s World Banking estimates that fewer than 2 percent of low-income entrepreneurs have access to financial services. In Africa, women receive less than 10 percent of the credit to small farmers and less than l percent of the total credit to agriculture. Social Capital Assets Voice.
Gender barriers limit women s participation and reinforce power gaps.
Women s political participation is generally still low. Half of the national cabinets in SSA have no women at all. Gender and Policy Public policy, and partnerships with civil society, have an important role to play in promoting gender-inclusive growth and poverty reduction. Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region.