Editor’s Note
This is part two of a three-part series on the wealth transfer headed toward women, written for PROVOKED by Kristin Hull, founder of Nia Impact Capital. A note on how this works: Nia didn’t pay for this placement, and PROVOKED wasn’t paid to run it. This is two women founders deciding that this information matters. Part one mapped what’s coming. This one goes inside the feminist portfolio—what it actually is, and what it’s not. —Susan
Gender-lens investing is a lot more than a pink logo. Here’s the framework behind the portfolios that are actually built on equity.
What comes to mind when you hear the words “feminist investing”? A pink logo? Maybe a script font and flowery images? The language surrounding gender-lens investing has been co-opted so much that skepticism is warranted.
After decades working in this space and building one of the country’s few women-led investment firms, I want to offer specific tips and best practices. I want to show what authentic gender-lens investing is, and as importantly, what it’s not.
A genuine feminist portfolio isn’t a fund that slaps a “women-led” label on a company because the CEO is female. Proactive gender-lens investing is about operational integrity on several levels, including the consistency between what a company says it values and how those ideals are actually put into action. Best practices for companies include implementing pay equity, parental leave, gender-balanced hiring and promotion practices, as well as the day-to-day culture inside the firm. When internal structures lead to gender equity and reflect a company’s public commitments, that’s evidence of long-term value creation and real business resilience.
The Framework Is Straightforward
I approach gender-lens portfolio construction by applying three rigorous perspectives: equity, labor, and positive impact.
The equity lens asks who holds power, including who sits at the leadership table and owns equity in the business. Not surprisingly, companies with more than a quarter of women on their executive committees have been shown to realize profit margins more than 10 times higher than those with no female board members. We look for companies where women occupy board and C-suite seats, not as a quota exercise, but as a signal of future performance. Diverse leadership teams have been shown to demonstrate stronger decision-making and lower risk profiles, especially during market volatility.
The labor lens looks at how a company manages its human capital. The gender pay gap, family leave practices, and health care access are all indicators of cultural health. A forward-looking company strategizes to attract and nurture an inclusive workforce. Companies unwilling to confront inequity within their team take on hidden risk, the kind that can later show up as bad press, shareholder pressure, and talent drain. In other words, strong workforce equity is corporate governance at work.
The impact lens is where things get interesting. Some investments may not seem feminist at all at first glance, yet they absolutely pass our gender-lens criteria. We focus on companies whose products and services create measurable impact for women and girls: health care, financial inclusion, sustainable food systems, and clean energy. When companies’ revenue sources are baked with purpose, we can trace measurable impact for real-world change.
Gender and Racial Equity are Inseparable
Gender equity and racial equity are intertwined, and any honest evaluation process has to address both. While white women certainly face systemic discrimination, women of color face compounding barriers in terms of entrepreneurial and capitalistic opportunities. So the question isn’t simply if there are women in the room; it’s whether those women reflect the customers or communities being served.
The same scrutiny applies when selecting fund managers. Women- and minority-owned firms combined manage just 1.4% of assets in the $84.24 trillion asset management industry, despite consistently outperforming peers. Directing capital toward founders from systematically excluded communities and using shareholder engagement to push for accountability can serve as long-term risk management.
How Leveraging Gender Criteria Works in Practice
Using a gender lens can apply across all asset classes, not just public equities. In fixed income, that might mean choosing gender equality bonds or community development financial institutions lending to women entrepreneurs. In private markets, backing women founders who remain dramatically underfunded can lead to excess returns: They receive only approximately 2% of total U.S. venture capital. That gap is an enormous and largely ignored opportunity.
The same goes for the women running the funds. One study tracked more than 50,000 U.S. investor accounts over seven years and found that women consistently achieved higher risk-adjusted returns than men—trading less, staying the course, and delivering greater financial returns. Yet women-owned firms manage less than 1% of U.S. assets. That disconnect isn’t accidental. Systemic bias is strong, and it’s correctable through intentional capital allocation. Each one of us can make a difference in moving the needle and increasing allocations to women-led funds.
Getting Started
When you’re ready to look at your own portfolio through this lens, start with a few questions:
First, what percentage of companies in your portfolio include women in both executive leadership and on the board of directors?
Not one or the other—both. Start by asking your advisor or conducting a simple online search: MSCI and Bloomberg both publish free gender diversity scores for publicly traded companies. You can also check a company’s proxy statement, filed annually with the SEC, which lists all board members and executive officers.
Second, how many of your funds are run by women or people of color? If you don’t find any, ask your financial advisor why not and ask for alternatives. If you don’t have a financial advisor or need to find a new one, ValuesAdvisor or Mission Investors Exchange are solid places to start.
Next, do the companies in your portfolio have documented pay gaps, repeated harassment settlements, or lack equity disclosure? Those companies could represent risk, not just discomfort.
Lastly, do the products and services you invest in actively improve the lives of women and girls?
If the solutions you expect a company to work on don’t appear anywhere in the company’s mission statement, annual reports, or description of its customer base, that lack of information is often all you need.
These questions rarely require a complete portfolio overhaul, yet they do spark the conversations that matter with your advisor, your fund manager, and your girlfriends.
The Bigger Picture
As much as $124 trillion is set to change hands in the Great Wealth Transfer by 2030, and women will control a significant share of it—and we’re already directing it differently. We’re asking different questions about where our money is invested, who it benefits, and what it builds.
Feminist investing isn’t charity. Investing with a gender lens doesn’t mean compromising on returns. It’s an evidence-based recognition that equity—gender equity, racial equity, and economic equity—is connected to the quality of decision-making inside companies, and that quality of decision-making drives performance.
The portfolios that will be most resilient over the next decade won’t be the ones that ignored half the population. They’ll be the ones who paid attention.
Learn more about the Nia Impact Capital Mutual Fund.
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