Impact fund for women and girls unveiled

The fund aims to have a major impact on the wellbeing of women and girls in Australia and around the world

An impact investment fund for women and girls has just been launched, focused on investing in companies promoting gender equality and supporting charities with gender-focused programs.

Global Impact Initiative (GII) says its Global Gender Equality Fund (GGEF) is the world’s first, actively-managed impact investment fund focused on women and girls.

Administered by global fund manager Robeco, the GGEF aims to have a major impact on the wellbeing of women and girls in Australia and around the world.

The fund will invest in a portfolio of carefully selected global companies which promote gender equality across board representation, recruitment, management processes, remuneration and policies.

Investors will have the option of either taking the income generated from the fund or donating it to charities with specific programs focused on improving the lives of women and girls.

The five charities selected are Grameen, Malala Fund, UN Women, UNICEF and World Vision.

Donations will be funnelled into programs supporting maternal health, vaccination and girls’ education, ensuring these initiatives can be scaled and improved for maximum social impact.  

The fund will also invest in social impact initiatives across Australia. 

GII’s founder and CEO Giles Gunesekera said the fund had been many years in the making. 

“The advantage of a fund such as this is that the bigger it gets, the more social impact we can create,” Gunesekera said.

“We are not just donating to charities, we are collaborating with them to measure, map and monitor social impact to the UN [Sustainable Development Goals]. 

“We will be able to drive and accelerate positive social change via granular, intentional and measurable reporting on the social impact achieved.”  

Equity Trustees (ET) has been appointed as responsible entity of the fund.

ET chair Carol Schwartz AO said the fund’s focus on gender equality was incredibly important.

“Having gender equality around decision making tables and integrated throughout an organisation is absolutely crucial to ensuring it’s a high performing one,” Schwartz said. 

“A growing cohort of investors are recognising this, and so it’s fantastic we can offer this global fund opportunity via Equity Trustees.”