The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis : A Women’s Financial Inclusion and Resilience Stress Test

This research examines the role financial services played in facilitating Ukrainian women refugees’ journeys following the Russian invasion. Financial services are argued to promote financial resilience, defined as the ability to respond to unexpected events with adverse financial impacts. The case of Ukrainian women refugees in European countries presents as a stress test for women refugees’ financial inclusion. Ukrainian women refugees overwhelmingly had previous access to the formal financial system in Ukraine, legal ability to work in receiving countries, policy support for connecting to social and economic systems, some form of identification, and an outpouring of aid from the global community. Our analysis synthesizes data on financial services access, financial services use, and financial resilience among from 805 in-person surveys and 16 in-depth interviews conducted in May and June 2022 in Moldova and Romania. First, results advance financial resilience scholarship by demonstrating that Ukrainian women refugees’ financial lives exist within a constellation of other immediate and long-term needs. Second, our research demonstrates that Ukrainian women refugees did not rely on formal financial products in their journeys out of Ukraine, but formal banking services were accessible and beneficial to some women in their resettlement experiences in receiving countries. Finally, findings indicate Ukrainian women refugees have low financial resilience despite high financial capability, social and financial support, and economic engagement. Policymakers can take lessons from this research forward to supporting other refugees, whose numbers are only expected to rise going forward