With August being Women’s Month, it gives us a good opportunity to explore new trends within investment management, in particular, Gender Lens Investing (GLI).
The 27four Private Markets division has published insightful papers on the mechanics of GLI and how investing with a gender lens presents opportunities that seek to improve the lives of women by a deliberate integration of gender factors in the formulation and implementation of an investment strategy. In this article, we will explore the basic concepts of GLI and what outcomes it looks to address.
GLI investing, at its core, looks to advance gender equality and better inform investment decisions through a data-driven approach to address the gender gap, caused largely by hurdles women face in achieving social and economic parity relative to men.
Let’s look at a typical example like saving for retirement.
While the core principles of saving and investing for one’s retirement and other long-term goals remain the same for both men and women, the reality is that there are factors that women must take into account when planning for their futures that men may not necessarily need to consider.
In South Africa, on average, women are living longer than men. The latest statistical release from Stats SA shows that the average life expectancy for men in South Africa is 64, while the number for women is 71. This means, on average, women are living seven years longer than men. This implies that women may have to save more during their working life to sustain themselves during a longer retirement phase. What makes things more complicated is the sobering fact that according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report, in South Africa, women earned between 23% and 35% less than men doing the same job in 2022.
Within the SA Asset Management landscape, while black individuals are represented in senior leadership roles (66% of CEOs are black, and 63% of chairpersons are black), women are significantly underrepresented. Only 18% of CEOs and 16% of CIOs are women. Women tend to occupy more entry-level positions, such as analysts, but face substantial barriers to progressing into senior decision-making roles like portfolio managers, where 76% of firms report less than 30% women representation . GLI is therefore an ideal strategy to address these socio-economic challenges that women face.
By investing in women-owned businesses and entities that promote workplace equity, or improve the lives of women and girls though empowerment, the following outcomes would ideally be achieved:
- Promoting women’s financial education and creating an ecosystem that would result in more women in leadership roles;
- Creating products and service offerings that would have a positive impact on women; and
- Supporting companies that drive diversification and female participation.
At 27four, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are non-negotiable tenets that we embed in all facets of the organisation. We promote the progression of black women’s participation in fund management through the 27four DEI Asset Manager Program.
We are proud to operate the only black women-owned, managed, and controlled linked-life insurer and CIS Manco in South Africa.
If you have any questions or require assistance, speak to your financial advisor or call us. Our team is always available to assist you. You can reach us on the contact details below:
You can reach us on the contact details below:
Website: 27four.com
Call: 0800 000 274
Email: info@27four.com
WhatsApp: “Hi” to 011- 442 2467