Gender Equity

Gender equity is good for investment, good for business, and good for society

Calvert Impact considers gender across all our investments. Why? Gender equity is not just good for women – it's good for investment, good for business, and good for society. In short – it’s good for us all. We know that women are good investments for their families, communities, and for society at large. And from our own Community Investment Note portfolio analysis, we know that organizations with greater gender diversity at the governance and leadership level outperform those with less.

As a recognized leader in this field, Calvert Impact is working to make gender lens investing a standard practice for all investing. We share our lessons learned and resources with the field to encourage the adoption of gender lens strategies.

Check out our gender lens investing resources below.

Our Gender Lens Strategy

Calvert Impact uses gender as a lever and a lens: a lens to see risk and opportunity more clearly and as a lever to pull for greater impact. Gender is nuanced and contextual; there is no one way to incorporate gender into a strategy and our borrowers’ diverse approaches demonstrate this. We’re proud to work with our borrowers to introduce, improve, and enhance their gender strategies. Check out our Portfolio List to learn more about our borrowers with gender equity strategies.

Spotlight on Gender Equity in Renewable Energy

Investing with a gender lens has the potential for outsized impact, particularly in the renewable energy sector internationally. Energy poverty disproportionately affects women and girls; over 789 million people around the world lack access to electricity, concentrated heavily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Access to clean energy can improve women’s health by reducing indoor air pollution and can enable more opportunities for education and entrepreneurship. By strengthening the gender lens approach in this relatively young sector, we can ensure that as it grows, its consideration of gender grows with it.

finca-international-s2-p1 Photo courtesy FINCA International


External Resources