Rethinking gender scoring to gain fairer creditworthiness assessments

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Introduction

In this era of digital transformation, societies find themselves at the intersection of ethics, finance, and technology (Davis, Kumiega & Vliet, 2013). As we embrace the digital revolution, one theme that demands immediate attention is the ethical implications surrounding the algorithmic scoring of consumers in creditworthiness assessment procedures. In the realm of finance, where numbers and calculations reign supreme, we often assume that decisions are made objectively, devoid of any biases or discriminatory practices. However, the emergence of algorithmic decision-making in creditworthiness assessment procedures has challenged this assumption, revealing a world where gender-based algorithmic scoring can have profound implications for consumers.
Automated decision-making has the potential to bestow countless benefits on society, empowering financial institutions to make informed decisions based on vast amounts of data. Yet it also carries the inherent risk of undermining people’s rights and freedoms. Discrimination, disguised within the algorithms, can silently permeate creditworthiness assessments, leading to unjustified denials of services and goods.

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