Gender Lens Investing - A Survey by The Young Foundation

Gender Lens Investing - A Survey by The Young Foundation

Expert opinion

The Gender Futures team of The Young Foundation is currently working on a new piece of research, funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, on gender lens investing – i.e. using gender as a category during the investment process in order to obtain social and/or financial returns.

Our previous research, as detailed in our Unequal Nation report, shows that there seems to be a lack of understanding of gender, and of how to apply a gender lens to investment decisions, in the social finance sector. In turn, we know that the gender equality sector is struggling to get finance.

Through this project we want to support knowledge and capacity building so that social financiers are able to make more effective and sustainable social investments, eventually leading to a more financially sustainable gender equality sector.

In order to do so, we need to know what the current situation is – what do social investors understand gender to be, and how do they, if at all, apply this knowledge to their decisions on what to finance and how. We want to understand what is happening, how, and what tools are necessary in order to ensure investors are able to apply a gender lens to the work they do.

We are currently running a survey that seeks answers to these questions – the data collected will serve to map the current playing field and highlight key areas where further support is needed. The survey consists of 15 questions, and will not take longer than 20 minutes to complete. All results will be anonymised. By participating in it, you will be helping us know what the current situation is and what tools and support is needed to ensure social investments are able to address gender as part of their social impact. Please help us make sure we are able to deliver research that fits our current reality in the UK, and develop tools that are of practical use to investors!

For any questions or comments please contact us at muriel.kahane@youngfoundation.org – we would love to hear from you!

This expert opinion is tagged under:

  • Social investment
  • Trusts & foundations