About this Report
Between January 2022 and July 2022, GenderSmart conducted 141 interviews averaging 30-45 minutes with investors, intermediaries and gender experts. They represented 131 organisations across the investment ecosystem, globally. Every effort was made to get an equal balance across asset classes and geographies, although this was challenging in some markets and asset classes. A base set of investor/intermediary interview questions was used, with variations for gender experts, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and ratings firms.
Respondents were sent a short quantitative survey in advance of their interview, completed by 111/141 participants (see below).
Synthesis was conducted by the GenderSmart team between July and early September, 2022. Writing took place between August and the end of September, 2022.
Interviewees
Many thanks to the following individuals and organisations for their candid and insightful contributions. The institution/actor types are taken from GenderSmart’s existing audience breakdown. Many but not all are an existing part of the GenderSmart community, and have participated in Working Groups or other programming.
We have also listed the region of each respondent’s work - in many cases this is where they are based, but not always.
Aunnie Patton Power
Academic, Oxford, LSE (Africa)
Laurel Steinfeld
Associate Professor, Bentley University (North America)
Marypat Thenell Smucker
Principal, Parallelle Finance (North America)
Maria Ariza
CEO, BIVA MX (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Emily Boost
Liquidity Management Director, Morgan Stanley (North America)
Paul Donovan
Chief Economist, UBS (Europe and the UK)
Borja Fernandez
Head of Structuring and Latin America Lead, Citi (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Chunmei Huang
Managing Director, Shinsei Bank (Asia Pacific)
Chantal Korteweg
Directeur Inclusive Banking, ABN Amro (Europe and the UK)
Ayuna Nechaeva
Director, Head of Europe, LSEG (Europe and the UK)
Alice Page
Head, GWM Strategy and Business Development, UBS (Europe and the UK)
Sayaka Takatsuka
Senior Director, Shinsei Bank (Asia Pacific)
Vymala Thuron
Head of programme development for the group, Lead of Gender Lens Investing Initiative, Grofin (Africa)
Jackie VanderBrug
Head of Sustainability Strategy, Putnam Investments (North America)
Emma Wheeler
Executive Director, Head of Women’s Wealth, UBS (Europe and the UK)
Georges Dyer
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Intentional Endowments Network (North America)
Deborah Christie
Managing Director, Cambridge Associates (North America)
Dr Khetsiwe Diamini
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Triple C Advisory (Africa)
Patricia Farrar-Rivas
Founding Member and Chairperson, Veris Wealth Partners (North America)
Amar Gokhale
Manager, Intellecap (South Asia)
Rehana Nathoo
Founder and CEO, Spectrum Impact (North America)
Hedda Pahlson-Moller
Co-Founder and CEO, TIIME (Europe and the UK)
Raya Papp
Founding Partner, SAGANA (Europe and the UK)
Gilles Pascual
Partner, EY (Asia Pacific)
Liesbet Peeters
Managing Partner, VOLTA Capital (Europe and the UK)
Alison Pyott
Partner and Senior Impact Wealth Manager, Veris Wealth Partners (North America)
Rachna Saxena
Partner, Dalberg (North America)
Cécile Sevrain
Co-Founder, TIIME (Europe and the UK)
Dune Thorne
Partner, Brown Advisory (North America)
Esther Dassanou
Manager Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), AFDB (Africa)
Trisha Gray
Assistant Director Gender Equality, DFAT (Asia Pacific)
Shalaka Joshi
Gender Lead, South Asia, IFC (South Asia)
Anne-Marie Lévesque
Director, Gender and Impact Management, FinDev Canada (North America)
Hama Makino
Senior Gender Policy Advisor, DFC (North America)
Carmen Niethammer
Senior Gender Specialist, EIB (Europe and the UK)
Stephanie Oueda Cruz
Head of Diversity and Inclusion, IDB Invest (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Joanna Pinkas
Assistant Director, DFAT (Asia Pacific)
Marco Serena
Head of Sustainable Development Impact, PIDG (Europe and the UK)
Yuri Soares
Chief Impact Officer, IDB Lab (Latin America and the Caribbean)
James Soukamneuth
Impact Investing Director, Investing in Women (Asia Pacific)
Melina Cruz Villafaña
CEO, Homely (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Salua García Fakih
Co-Founder, Symplifica (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Sabrina Natasha Habib
Co-Founder and CEO, Kidogo (Africa)
Viola Llewellyn
President and Co-Founder, Ovamba Solutions (Africa)
Olga Miler
Co-Founder, SmartPurse (Europe and the UK)
Vicki Saunders
Founder, Coralus (formerly SheEO) (North America)
Ajaita Shah
Founder and CEO, Frontier Markets (South Asia)
Melissa Widen
Founder, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer, First Women's Bank (North America)
Chenny Xia
CEO, GotCare (North America)
Easter Achieng Okech
Executive Director & Programs Coordinator, Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO) (Africa)
Rebecca Calder
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Kore Global (North America)
Ellen Friedman
Executive Director, Compton Foundation (North America)
Rebecca Fries
CEO & Founding Director, Value For Women (North America)
Fidelis Karanja
Founder, Young African Women Initiatives (Africa)
Peninah Kimiri
Emergency Response Specialist, Gender Based Violence, CARE Canada (Africa)
Julia Mason
Co-Founder, Equity JV (Asia Pacific)
Shadrack Oyier
Programs Coordinator, Ability Africa Foundation (AAF) (Africa)
Tuti Scott
President, Changemaker Strategies (North America)
Caroline Vale
CEO, Murawin (Asia Pacific)
Tunuka Gray
Principal, CrossBoundary (Africa)
Giles Gunesekera
Founder and CEO, Global Impact (Asia Pacific)
Anastasiya Litvinova
Director, Palladium (Europe and the UK)
Laurie Spengler
Founder and CEO, Courageous Capital Advisors (Europe and the UK)
Steven van Weede
Managing Director, Palladium (Europe and the UK)
Drew von Glahn
Executive Director, Collaborative for Frontier Finance (CFF) (Africa)
Shawn Escoffery
CEO, Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation (North America)
Leslie Johnston
CEO, Laudes Foundation (Europe and the UK)
Daniela Konietzko
President, WWB Colombia (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Najada Kumbuli
Head of Investments, Visa Foundation (North America)
Cristina Ljungberg
Co-Founder, The Case for Her (Europe and the UK)
Ayaka Matsuno
Director at Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Asia Pacific)
Katherine Pease
Managing Director, Pathstone (North America)
Liesel Pritzker Simmons
Co-Founder, Bluehaven (North America)
Ruth Shaber
President and Founder, Tara Health Foundation (North America)
Chetna Sinha
Founder, Mann Deshi Foundation (South Asia)
Nancy Swanson
Executive Director, Linked Foundation (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Viiveck Verma
Chief Impact Officer, Recyckal Foundation (South Asia)
Teresa Younger
CEO and President, Ms. Foundation (North America)
Hany Assaad
Co-Founder and Chief Portfolio and Risk Officer, Avanz Capital (Africa)
Natasha Barantseva
Managing Partner, Andes Impact Partners (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Stefan Bollier
Member of the Investment Committee, Dreilinden (Europe and the UK)
Ise Bosch
CEO, Dreilinden (Europe and the UK)
Jen Braswell
Managing Director and Head of Impact, EQT
Simone Brummelhuis
Fund Director and Partner, Borski fund (Europe and the UK)
Jennifer Buckley
Founder & Managing Director, Sweef Capital (Asia Pacific)
Temilade Denton
Social Impact and ESG Manager, Alitheia Capital (Africa)
Kshama Fernandes
Chairperson, Northern Arc Investments (South Asia)
Patricia Francis
Director, Portland JSX (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Julie Gorte
Senior Vice President for Sustainable Investing, Impax Asset Management LLC (North America)
Kristin Hull
Founder, CEO and CIO, Nia Impact Capital (North America)
Christina (CJ) Juhasz
Chief Investment Officer, Women’s World Banking Asset Management (North America)
Kalsoom Lakhani
Co-Founder/GP, I2I Ventures (South Asia)
Renee Morgan
Social Justice Director, Adasina (North America)
Lilian Mramba
Regional Director for Africa, Grassroots Business Fund (Africa)
Tara Murphy Forde
Managing Director, Capital and Impact, Global Partnerships (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Adaora Ogbue
Director, Investment Strategy, Equality Fund (North America)
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes
Founding Partner and CEO, Aruwa Capital Management (Africa)
Amie Patel
Partner and CEO, Elevar Equity (South Asia)
Jennifer Pryce
President and CEO, Calvert Impact Capital (North America)
Tim Radjy
Chairman, AlphaMundi and Gender Lens Investing Switzerland (GLIS) (Europe and the UK)
Ana Raptis
Founder and Managing Partner, Amplifica Capital (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Rachel J. Robasciotti
Founder and CEO, Adasina (North America)
Rema Subramanian
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Ankur Capital Fund (South Asia)
Sagar Tandon
Partner, Beyond Impact VC (South Asia)
Shuyin Tang
Partner at Patamar Capital, Co-Founder and CEO at the Beacon Fund (Asia Pacific)
Rodrigo Vilar
Founding Partner, New Ventures (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Marielle Brunelle
Head of Global Communications and Advocacy, Investor Leadership Network (North America)
Eva Halvarsson
CEO, Andra AP-fonden (AP2) (Europe and the UK)
Amy Hepburn
CEO, Investor Leadership Network (North America)
Christina Hobbs
Co-Founder and CEO, Verve Super (Asia Pacific)
Dirk Meuleman
CEO, Phenix Advisors (Europe and the UK)
Mardé van Wyk
Private Markets Consultant, MvW Consulting (Africa)
Selina Haeny
Former Policy Advisor Gender Equality and Private Sector, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) (Europe and the UK)
Liz Peri
Women’s Economic and Empowerment and Economic Inclusion Adviser, Department for International Development (Europe and the UK)
Simi Shah
Project Director, Innovation and Growth, City of London Corporation (Europe and the UK)
Lisa Witter
CEO, Apolitical Foundation (Europe and the UK)
Katja Freiwald
Regional Head for ‘WeEmpowerAsia’, UN Women (Asia Pacific)
Diana Gutierrez
Manager Global Programme on Business for Gender Equality & Lead Gender & Digital Transformation, UNDP (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Robyn Oates
Sustainable Finance Specialist, UN Women (Africa)
Diana van Maasdijk
Co-Founder and CEO, Equileap (Europe and the UK)
Joy Anderson
Founder and President, Criterion (North America)
Frank Aswani
CEO, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) (Africa)
Carey Bohjanen
Founder, The Rallying Cry (Africa)
Carmen Correa
CEO, ProMujer (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Sabina Curatolo
Bridges Australia (Asia Pacific)
Pooja Eppanapally
Investment Manager, Women of the World Endowment (North America)
Jessica Espinoza
CEO, 2X Collaborative (North America)
Ceri Goddard
Director, Equality Impact Investing (Europe and the UK)
Sarah Gordon
CEO, Impact Investing Institute (Europe and the UK)
Sarah Haacke Byrd
CEO, Women Moving Millions (North America)
David Ferreira
Impact Communities Director, Latimpacto (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Thomas Knowles
Partner, Gratitude Railroad (North America)
Charlotte Lush
Senior WDI Research Manager, ShareAction (Europe and the UK)
Sally McCutchan
Partner and CEO, Bridges Australia (Asia Pacific)
Shelly Porges
Founder and Managing Partner, Beyond the Billion and The Billion Dollar Fund for Women (North America)
Anuj Sharma
Founder and CEO, Alsisar Impact (South Asia)
Kristin Siegel
Head of EMEA, Toniic (Europe and the UK)
Kinga Stanisławska
Founder, European Women in VC (Europe and the UK)
Carolina Suárez Visbal
CEO, Latimpacto (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Naina Subberwal Batra
CEO, AVPN (Asia Pacific)
Halla Tómasdóttir
CEO, B Team (Europe and the UK)
Richenda van Leeuwen
Executive Director, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) (North America)
Shiela Yabo
Founder and CEO, Connected Dot Labs (Africa)
Geographical Representation
Latin America and the Caribbean: 16%
North America: 41%
Europe and the UK: 35%
South Asia: 11%
Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific: 17%
Africa and the Middle East: 21%
How do you define gender lens investing?
Women in leadership/decision making: 73%
Products and services that take gender into account: 70%
Improving access to capital: 82%
Workplace equity: 64%
Addressing gender justice issues such as GBV: 45%
Women as investors: 56%
Other: 20%
Which asset classes do you invest in/influence investments in?
Private debt: 52%
Private equity/VC: 74%
Evergreen/Holding company: 16%
Collaborative angel fund: 16%
Real estate: 20%
Public markets: 31%
Credit unions and/or CDFIs: 13%
Impact bonds: 21%
N/A: 16%
Team
Interviews
Debbi Evans
Synthesis
Suzanne Biegel, Debbi Evans, Sana Kapadia, Julie Labruto, Swati Pujari
Editor
Debbi Evans
Lead Writer
Florence Robson
Additional Writing and Edits
Suzanne Biegel, Rachel Hills, Meg Massey
Illustrations
Bethan Thomas
Design
Tom Lau