Gender-smart investing is a growing asset class with a compelling business case. Billions of dollars are held in assets under management, in both private and public capital markets, and the opportunities to mobilize capital and invest to close gender gaps are promising and growing.
Evidence shows that gender-smart investment strategies can help grow a company’s competitiveness, solidify its supply base, improve its human capital, and help build an overall enabling business environment. By considering the full scope of the business case, companies can unlock opportunities for increased profit, growth, and innovation.
While the opportunity is promising, more clarity and guidance is needed by fund managers to understand how to put gender-smart investing into practice. To fill this knowledge gap, IFC, in partnership with CDC and support from the Government of Canada, developed Private Equity and Value Creation: A Fund Manager’s Guide to Gender-smart Investing. The Guide is a practical step-by-step road map for fund managers on how to strengthen gender diversity within their own firms and incorporate a gender focus into investment operations. It combines learnings from CDC and IFC’s experience with over 160 fund managers and draws on best practices with a series of case studies from stakeholders across the industry.
Additional resource: Moving Toward Gender Balance in Private Equity and Venture Capital in Emerging Markets (March 2019)
CONTENTS
Foreword by Stephen Priestley, Managing Director Funds and Capital Partnerships, CDC Group and William Sonneborn, Senior Director Disruptive Technology and Funds, IFC
Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
Introduction
What is Gender-smart Investing?
Objectives, Audience, and Methodology
The Investor's Journey
Getting Started: Set a Focus
Five Gender-smart Investment Strategies
Firm Level
Strengthen Gender Diversity at the Firm/Fund Manager Level
Implement a Firm-wide Gender Strategy
Steps to a Successful Strategy
Portfolio Level
Select a Gender Lens
Apply a Gender Lens
Measure a Gender Lens