As You Sow
Partnering with Equileap, we analyze the companies inside popular mutual funds and track the gender balance of company leadership and workforce. Each fund gets a gender balance score based on how the companies it invests in stack up on criteria including:
- The gender balance of the board of directors
- The gender balance of corporate executives and senior management
- The gender balance of the overall workforce
- The gender ratio of management compared to total employees
Some policies promoting gender equality have become common practice among large companies, but there are still many who lag behind. Each fund gets a score based on whether the companies it invests in have pro-gender equality policies, including:
- Equal access to training and career development
- Non-discriminatory recruitment policy
- Commitment to pay a fair wage to all employees
- Protections for employees reporting harassment
- Initiatives to reduce trafficking and human rights risks throughout the supply chain
Gender lens investing isn't just a moral question. Research shows gender diverse companies tend to have better returns and lower risk.
Equal pay and, more broadly, equal opportunities at work are powerful levers to grow global prosperity: they have the potential to take millions of women and their families out of poverty and move us closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, as defined by the United Nations. – Equileap, Gender Equality Global Report and Ranking (2017)
Discover which funds are investing in the companies that lead the field in terms of gender balance and policies promoting gender equality. You can make a difference and a return. A growing body of evidence correlates various gender-lens investing criteria with higher financial performance and lower investment risk.
Use Gender Equality Funds to search and compare mutual funds based on their gender-lens score and financial performance. You can use our database to find socially responsible options that meet your specific needs.
