Empowering women, building sustainable assets: Strengthening the depth of gender lens investing across asset classes

The financial markets offer opportunities for advancing gender equality through impact investing and sustainable finance.

This report, prepared by UN Women, in collaboration with Phenix Capital Group, Politecnico di Milano – Tiresia, and Bocconi University – AXA Research Lab on Gender Equality, reflects on various models and challenges of gender lens investing (GLI), along with challenges they pose to feminist agendas. It urges collective action from all stakeholders to advance financing for gender equality and achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 inclusively and sustainably.

The publication highlights the urgent need for transforming the global financial architecture in advancing SDG 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment. Leveraging opportunities in today‘s financial markets such as impact investing and sustainable finance, the report calls for improved measurement, transparency, and accountability in gender lens investing to ensure real impact on gender equality. The report also highlights the various indices of gender inequality, such as limited access to education and healthcare, unequal economic opportunities, and political representation, which hinder social progress and economic stability. Gender lens investing is proposed as a practical approach to address these disparities by integrating gender analysis into investment decisions across different asset classes.