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The latest report from our Chief Investment Office, Gender-lens investment: The state of women in 2025, examines gender-lens investments – asking “where are we now?” – and provides takeaways for investors.
• Key investment opportunities for women include products and services that address women's needs, with a focus on emerging digital technologies.
• Key investments in women rest on finding scalable opportunities to put money to work in companies with significant female representation in management roles.
• Key investments by women span the growing numbers of female-led portfolios, which include sustainable and impact investing solutions alongside liquid listed investments, private equity, and real estate.
Over the past two decades, women have made significant strides in socio-economic metrics worldwide. For instance, enrolment in tertiary education has surged, with 46% of women and 40% of men now pursuing higher education, compared with just 19% for both genders in 2000, according to 2024 data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report.
However, progress remains uneven across regions and sectors, with momentum stalling in some areas. The gender gap – disparities in health, education, and economic opportunities – continues to limit women's growth potential and, consequently, overall economic growth and innovation.
Increasingly, women are in the driver’s seat in investments.
So, while women have made significant economic progress, gender gaps remain that are holding back women’s personal development, financial empowerment, and both their own and society’s growth potential. Investors, including women, can drive further positive economic development by embracing gender-lens investing. The opportunity set for investments for, in, and by women is expected to grow as we approach 2030, potentially offering both commercial and societal benefits.
Our Chief Investment Office believes that addressing the gender gap requires a deliberate understanding of the interwovenness between gender and investing. Gender-lens investing – a concept introduced in 2009 – focuses on investment practices that intentionally address women's challenges and needs. This approach is divided into three lenses: investments for women, in women, and by women.
We view investment for women, in women and by women as creating a flywheel of opportunity and advancement.
These lenses touch on four key areas in our view: education, health, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurship. Closing the gender gap in labor force participation and management roles could add USD 7 trillion to global GDP, with potential gains reaching USD 22–28 trillion if gender equality is achieved (according to various estimates from The World Bank in 2023 and the European Investment Bank in 2021). These potential economic benefits are driving governments and economists to implement strategies that advance women's roles in society.