Gender and Sustainability

The impact of applying a gender lens:

Organisation

Within our organisations, evidence shows that achieving gender equality, diversity and inclusivity can help us:

• Better understand our customers

  

  As an intermediary, it can help us to better understand our entrepreneurs and investors’ evolving needs. This can help us to create and deliver better programs and services that support entrepreneurs of all genders, and in doing so, create a more diverse investment pipeline for our investors.

  Applying a gender lens to the product development process can also help design more effectively for a broader group of end customers.

  Source: Banahan & Hasson, 2018

• Make better decisions

  

  Different genders have different attitudes towards risk, so if our decision-makers (e.g. board and leadership team) are gender diverse across our organisation and programs, this can lead to a more balanced decision-making process.

   

  Source: Banahan & Hasson, 2018

• Perform better, financially

  

  Gender diversity and inclusion leads to more talent retention, better decision making, improved problem solving and the ability to serve a larger, more diverse customer base, ultimately leading to better operating performance and financial results.

   

  Source: McKinsey and Company, 2018, p. 8, Dent, 2019

• Be more competitive and innovative

  

  Different genders experience the world differently and therefore, have different views and ideas.

   

  Source: IZA World of Labor, 2017.

• Attract, select, and retain talent

  

  Having a gender diverse and inclusive organisational culture has proven to help companies attract and retain talent.

   

  Source: Gallup, 2014.

• Attract more funding

  

  Gender Lens Investing (GLI) mandated investments globally increased from $100M to $2.4 billion between 2014 and 2018.

   

  Source: Veris, 2018.

Program

Within our programs, applying a gender lens can help us increase the accessibility of our programs to all genders, and it can also increase the effectiveness and value of the program(s) that we deliver. Through this, we can increase the gender diversity of the entrepreneurs we serve and better support them, thus increasing their chances of achieving venture growth (impact and revenue) and sustainability.Within our programs, gender diversity can help us to:

• Increase innovation

  

  Women remain an underrepresented group within the entrepreneurial space, yet women entrepreneurs are 5% more likely than men to be innovative in their businesses.

   

  Source: Kelley, et al., 2017, p.9

• Generate higher economic returns

  

  Women-led startups that are venture-backed were also found to be less likely to fail, used less capital, and had 12 percent higher annual revenues than those led by men in a study conducted in the US in 2009.

   

  Source: Criterion Institute, 2015, p. 55

   

  Investing in women also brings higher non-economic returns than investing in men, as women are more likely to reinvest their success into their children’s education, health, and nutrition compared to male entrepreneurs.

   

  Source: Criterion Institute, 2015, p. 54.

Ecosystem

We as intermediaries have a unique power and ability to influence other players in the ecosystem around us, who play a key role in supporting the success of entrepreneurs. We can influence these players to consider and implement gender-inclusive practices, which will compound and accelerate the positive impacts of our work. Within our ecosystems, gender equality can:

• Reduce income disparity

  

  Research has shown that Asia and the Pacific could increase per capita income by 70% within approximately two generations by eliminating gender disparities in employment, including in the entrepreneurship space.

   

  Source: The Asia Foundation & the Asian Development Bank, 2018, p. 2

• Increase social equity and contribute to sustainable development

  

  Where inequalities between women and men exist, it is generally women who have less access to and control over resources, opportunities, and decision making.

   

  Source: UNFPA, 2014.

   

  In spite of this evidence, and the understanding we now have of the critical role women play in economic, environmental, and social development, women remain overrepresented in informal and vulnerable employment, and sectors with low-profitability. They face financial barriers, as securing credit is more difficult, together with legal and policy barriers, and often discrimination. And yet, evidence shows that women’s access to better education and employment opportunities is key to economic growth and sustainable development.  

• Increase resilience against both major financial and environmental crises

  

  Economies characterised by high numbers of women entrepreneurs are more resilient to financial crises and experience economic slowdowns less frequently.

   

  Source: Global Entrepreneurship Research Association 2017, page 29