23 June 2023 | Infographic, Report

Investing in Women Activity Completion Report

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Summary

From 2016 to 2023, Investing in Women (IW) sought to catalyse inclusive economic growth through women’s economic empowerment in Southeast Asia. IW used three approaches to improve women’s opportunities as employees and as entrepreneurs, and to influence enabling environments in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar, namely: workplace gender equality (WGE), gender lens investing (GLI), and influencing gender norms. Learnings and best practices from this phase serve as the baseline for the next iteration of IW.

Highlights

IW established and supported business coalitions (BCs) to shift workplace culture, practices and policy barriers to advance WGE in society. The BCs collectively represent 128 member companies with over one million employees. A number of these firms have demonstrated clear improvements in WGE policies within their organisations.
In partnership with investors and ecosystem players, IW worked to normalize GLI within the wider ecosystem and increase the flow of capital toward women entrepreneurs in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. These activities have driven a sevenfold increase in GLI investment within the region.
10 investing partners invested in 82 women-owned or led small and medium enterpisees, using AUD 15.4 million from IW and AUD 290 million leveraged from other capital sources.
To positively shift gender norms on care and economic roles, IW supported 20 locally-led campaigns which reached over 350 million young urban millennials and led to positive shifts in gender attitudes and behaviour..