Gender Lens Investing Archives

How Robert Wood Johnson Fdn is Funding Growth for Girls Who Invest

Girls Who Invest, being backed by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will bring 175 new students to its Summer Intensive Program.

Girls Who Invest works to include more women in the world of asset management and finances. (Image credit: GWI)

Girls Who Invest (GWI), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry, welcomes a cohort of 175 scholars to its 2021 Summer Intensive Program.

Through GWI’s flagship ten-week program, each of these accomplished rising college juniors will complete a four-week rigorous program of study on the core tenets of investing. The program is taught by leading academics and industry professionals, including faculty from the Wharton School and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Scholars then complete six-week paid internships in frontline investing at one of GWI’s more than 100 partner firms. After completing the academic program (held virtually for the second year), scholars are equipped with the industry knowledge and financial, technical, and soft business skills required to excel in their internships and future asset management roles. The scholars participating in this year’s Summer Intensive Program will join more than 500 women who have successfully completed the program since 2016.

Fiona McKay: Financial Sector Must Evolve to Prioritize Social Returns

Fiona McKay’s website asks a simple but striking question: What would the world look like if more women controlled the money? It’s a question I often find myself pondering, too, as a social worker, a small businesswoman, a parent, and a gender equality activist.

A person with blonde hair

Description automatically generated with low confidence — Fiona McKay, author of the report, Trailblazing Women in Investment. (Image Credit: Fiona McKay)

McKay isn’t just pondering this profound question, though. She’s actively doing research on the way that gender norms shape our experiences, particularly in the financial sector. She is the author of Trailblazing Women in Investment, a new report that discusses gender lens investing and the barriers that women still face with controlling the money in finance.

What’s the Canadian Gov’t Doing with $100B For Gender Equality?

A report from Julie Gordon from Reuters discusses how the Canadian government is planning to fund a “feminist agenda” that includes $100 Billion (C) for childcare and other resources to support women and families.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will be the Task Force co-chair, along with Associate Minister of Finance Mona Fortier. (Image credit: Reuters) — Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s *Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance*, will be the Task Force co-chair, along with Associate Minister of Finance Mona Fortier. (Image credit: Reuters)

Canada on March 8th, 2021 unveiled an all-woman task force to ensure that its upcoming budget, set to include billions in post-pandemic stimulus spending, includes measures to get women working and address gender inequality.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first budget will not come this month, but later “this spring”, her spokeswoman said Monday. It will be the first full budget since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Ray of Hope for Women-Led Small Businesses

The funding platform Kickfurther has awarded a considerable amount of funding to Spinster Sisters, a women-led small business.

Funding for women led small businesses has often had a gender gap that has proven to be detrimental to them. In recent years, large strides have been made to close this gap and more funding has been allocated for women run businesses.

Spinster Sisters founder Kelly Perkins (Image credit: Spinster Sisters)

Recently, a no-cost financing giveaway held by Kickfurther was awarded to a women owned business called Spinster Sisters. This win for one small business signals the progress being made for all women owned businesses.

Kickfurther aims to help small businesses through the pandemic

Kickfurther is a platform for inventory funding that is supported by investors behind Robinhood, Tesla, Twitter and other investors. The platform allows for small businesses to be supported by those who like their product while allowing these supporters to make a profit when the inventory is sold.

The BitGive Strategy to Support Women Via Crypto-Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Connie Gallippi, Founder and Executive Director of the BitGive Foundation, which supports cryptocurrency-driven philanthropy.

1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

Prior to founding BitGive, I worked in another profession for 15 years. It was another world, so to speak. Entering the budding Bitcoin industry in its early years (2013), I wish I had known more to expect the challenge of aligning the perspectives of those in finance and tech with a vision of revolutionizing global philanthropy.

In my previous career, I worked with environmental nonprofits in California, advocating within the California legislature, and state and regional agencies. It was a challenge, but eventually we were able to get them to see the benefits of investing in natural resources. Shifting the perspective of tech- and finance- driven people to see how we could dramatically improve philanthropy, and to then take action and invest in our innovative approach, has been more of a gap than I anticipated; however, we are making great strides with our work and through our partnerships, and I can see a significant shift in sight!

Women on Top, New Initiative to Give $1M In Scholarships and Grants

Fashion Nova and Megan Thee Stallion announce the “Women on Top” initiative, which will give $1 million to women in grants and scholarships.

The Women on Top Initiative will be giving $1 in grants and scholarships to women until the end of March. (Image credit: Fashion Nova)

Fashion Nova, a leading e-commerce fashion lifestyle brand, and cultural icon, Megan Thee Stallion, announced “Women on Top,” a philanthropic initiative focused on women empowerment through the donation of funds to help support education, women-owned businesses, female-focused charities and organizations, and other inspirational women doing great things. Throughout the month, Fashion Nova Cares will highlight the various women, entrepreneurs and organizations who were preselected to receive $25,000 or more, for a total of $1,000,000.

Financial Firms Merge to Maximize Social Justice Returns for Investors

Abacus Wealth Partners and Robasciotti & Philipson have announced a merger to focus the firm on investors supporting social justice.

Rachel Robasciotti (left) and Maya Philipson (right) will be the new Director of Advocacy Engagement and Strategic Advisor, respectively, of Abacus following the merger. (Image credit: GlobeNewswire)

A merger was announced on March 3rd between Abacus Wealth Partners (“Abacus”), an impact-driven financial planning and wealth management firm, and the nationally-acclaimed, social justice-aligned investment firm, Robasciotti & Philipson (“R&P”), headquartered in San Francisco. Together, the two firms will operate under the Abacus name, and co-founders Rachel Robasciotti and Maya Philipson will now serve on the Abacus team as Director of Advocacy Engagement and Strategic Advisor, respectively. Through this merger, Abacus welcomes 115 additional households representing $130M in assets.

How Texas Women’s Foundation Made $160K in Grants for Storm Recovery

Texas Women’s Foundation, a philanthropic leader advocating for women’s progress and stability in the southern state, has dispersed nearly $2 million in grants from their Resilience Fund since the onset of COVID-19. The disastrous aftermath of the winter storms in February left the most vulnerable of the Texan population, low-income women and their families, in dire need of assistance. The Resilience Fund didn’t hesitate.

Funds from The Resilience Fund of the Texas Women’s Foundation helped to address the massive damage of winter storms in the region in February. (Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash)

The Resilience Fund is one of many established by the Texas Women’s Foundation, which uses evidence-based approaches to tackle the inequities that women, and specifically women of color, face in their state. The fund’s grants are a consistent and needs-based answer to the devastation these winter storms brought with them, including dozens of unnecessary deaths and nearly $20 billion in damages.

Equality Can’t Wait Challenge Announces Finalists for $40M Award

The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge has announced the finalists working to expand the power and influence of women in the U.S.

Ten finalists have been selected to move on to the final round of the Equality Can't Wait Challenge (Image credit: Equality Can't Wait) — Ten finalists have been selected to move on to the final round of the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge (Image credit: Equality Can’t Wait)

On March 8th, the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, which will award $40 million to help expand women’s power and influence in the United States by 2030, announced 10 projects that will move on to the final stage of the competition.

The Challenge, hosted by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates’ investment and incubation company—with additional support from MacKenzie Scott and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and managed by Lever for Change—was launched in June 2020 to accelerate the pace of progress toward gender equality in America.

Increasing Women’s Food Security: Jessamyn Sarmiento of WFP USA

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Jessamyn Sarmiento, Chief Marketing Officer of World Food Program USA.

What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

Jessamyn Sarmiento, courtesy of Jessamyn Sarmiento

Sometimes it’s good to break the rules. When you first start a career, everyone tells you how things are done. That’s the way it is. Here are your parameters. Don’t color outside the lines. I learned over time not to take this so seriously. There’s a lot to be said for trusting your own judgement. You can do things differently and will end up being much more creative. Instead of adhering 100 percent to “the right way” all the time, focus on what you believe to be your best ideas. Make your mistakes and learn from them. Don’t let others box you in.

Category: Gender Lens Investing