Investing in women makes smart economics. Yet, women, especially poor women, remain economically marginalized — working harder, receiving less income, and enjoying less decision making power than their male counterparts.
Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian government, was designed to support the growth of impact investing for women’s SMEs in Southeast Asia. Launched in 2016, the Investing in Women Initiative promotes women’s economic empowerment by redressing socio-cultural barriers to women’s full economic participation, whether in leadership positions, access to capital, labor force participation, or workplace equity. Within impact investing, the program seeks to expand access to — and control over — economic resources for women entrepreneurs.
Investing in Women looks to address investor biases — whether explicit or implicit — against women’s SMEs by partnering directly with impact investors and ecosystem builders.
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