The article “Gender equality fund performance disappoints” (ETF Hub, July 8), raises several important points. As a recognised global pioneer in gender lens investing, Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM) urges and reminds investors to base their decisions on relevant and contextualised data.
As the article points out, not all funds are doing the same (actually, what does “doing the same” mean?) and many focus solely on women in leadership rather than gender diversity at all levels within an organisation. This, unsurprisingly, does not lead to improving gender equality.
Our data shows a strong positive correlation between client and staff gender diversity and key financial performance indicators, including return on equity and revenue growth. We also observe a positive correlation between women loan officers and outreach to women clients.
A cornerstone of WAM’s strategy is the collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data. Holding ourselves and our portfolio companies accountable to enhancing access to financial services for low-income women while fostering gender diversity throughout all levels of the employee base yields stronger financial and operational results.
Simply said — to grow business, grow gender diversity and to reach more women, hire more women.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian
President and CEO, Women’s World Banking, New York, NY, US
