women, together with the businesses they run are financially excluded. this is also acknowledged in a 2011 report by the gender and development division on the study tour to tanzania and rwanda, regarding women ’ s economic empowerment. the report states that “ there is evidence that gender disparities in national development still exist in zambia and one of the areas of concern is access to finance by women entrepreneurs. in order to address this situation, one of the objectives in the sixth bis central bankers ’ speeches national development plan is to enhance the capacity of women to participate in national development ”. 1 the report further states that “ due to weak economic position such as lack of collateral required by most financial institutions, most women, especially the rural women, are unable to access investment capital to engage in business and other economic activities as individuals ”. access to affordable financial services – especially credit and insurance – enhances livelihood opportunities and empowers women and other marginalized groups to take charge of their lives as well as improve their social and economic equity. this is why financial inclusion is considered to be critical for achieving inclusive growth and poverty reduction. what do we mean by financial inclusion women ’ s financial inclusion has been described as “ a state in which women as individual, members of households and entrepreneurs, have access to the full range of financial products and services from convenient responsible formal service providers, offered effectively, responsibly and sustainably and at a reasonable cost to clients ” these products include payments, savings, credit, insurance and pensions. the finscope survey of 2005 and 2009 showed that access to financial services in zambia has been low with results indicating only a marginal increase from 33. 7 % in 2005 to 37. 3 % in 2009. this signifies that further efforts are required. the 2009 survey also revealed disparities in terms of financial access by gender, with male access at 41 % while that of females was at only 34 %. this was with regard to access to any financial product, formal or informal. with regard to the formal banking sector, only 14 per cent of zambian adults were banked. further broken down, 17 present of zambian males were banked compared to 12 per cent of females. distinguished guests, there are a variety of reasons that have been identified for financial exclusion in our country. in remote and sparsely populated areas with poor infrastructure, physical access itself acts as a deterrent. from the demand side, lack of awareness, low incomes, social exclusion, illiteracy, and lack of collateral

resource for regional job information. finally, the local government has worked to contend with a long - term loss of jobs in manufacturing and a more recent loss of jobs in professional services by attracting investment in a world - class photonics hub in rochester. i often meet with people who run large companies to get their take on the strength of the economy. whereas a few years ago, they might not have been engaged in a lot of hiring, today they tell me that it is becoming more challenging to find well - qualified workers for the job openings they want to fill. that ’ s good news for those of you participating in the p - tech program. it means employers are looking for graduates of programs just like yours, which are attuned to the job opportunities of employers. p tech rochester programs offer students professional mentors, job shadowing opportunities, and on - the - job experience to ensure that they are ready to contribute positively to the workplaces of local employers. i also understand that companies are investing more in on - the - job training and are strengthening efforts to retain more of the workers they attract, which means younger workers — such as p tech graduates — have a better chance of securing jobs that lead to long - lasting careers. by any measure, the market for younger workers today looks much better than it did in the years just after the great recession, when unemployment rates for teenagers were above 20 percent. 3 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches in fact, firms are turning more and more to programs like p - tech to help them find and train the workers they need. so the skills you are gaining today are likely to provide pathways not only to the jobs of today but also the careers of the future. workforce development the federal reserve bank of new york is one of the facilitators of the leading the way campaign. the federal reserve system has a long - standing interest in understanding labor market dynamics and promoting workforce development opportunities. programs like this help workers prepare for jobs and help firms invest in workforce development. together, these efforts help make the economy more productive and help us achieve our goal of maximum employment. in addition to the federal reserve bank of new york ’ s efforts, the federal reserve bank of boston is learning about labor markets in small industrial cities through their working cities challenge and the federal reserve bank of dallas has focused on the importance of infrastructure including broadband for economic inclusion. the federal reserve bank of atlanta has been a leader within the federal reserve system in establishing the investing in america