FEMINIST FINANCING: IMPACT INVESTING AT THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE AND GENDER

Abstract

The 2X Women’s Initiative emerged in March of 2018 as a targeted US campaign to unlock the investment potential of the world’s women. Followed by the BUILD Act, the US’s development finance institution declared its intention to advance gender equality and had gained the tools to effectively do so. This was a necessary change. While progress has occurred, gender inequality still remains one of the defining characteristics of our time. Important to the financial community, a growing body of research has demonstrated that gender inequalities correspond to real macro- and micro-economic losses that can only be regained with targeted investments in women. Two overarching crises threaten to jeopardize the progress that has been made, and, as a result, halt the potential economic gains of equalizing: climate change and COVID-19. Climate change threatens the global populace in countless ways as the natural environment reacts to warming global temperatures. Meanwhile, COVID-19 also significantly disrupted the global economy, with labor shortages and supply chain issues persisting even now As the world emerges from the shadow of the pandemic, it also reaches a critical juncture. World leaders are currently designing and implementing policy measures for economic recovery that have the potential to transform the status quo as we know it. Identifying this opportunity for reform, G7 countries announced their intention to “Build Back Better,” pledging to remain conscious of gender and climate issues in their efforts to rebuild the global economy. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has been identified as a key agency in ensuring this occurs. In the shadow of a pandemic that has disrupted the economic and social rights of women even more, particularly those in developing countries, DFC is indeed well-poised to advance gender and climate standards, making use of the 2X mandate and toolkit. However, effectively contributing to a sustainable and inclusive future will require DFC to adjust its investment strategy. Specifically, this thesis argues that the U.S. Development Finance Corporation has the political, social, and economic mandate to increase its financing efforts at the intersection of climate and gender to ensure that COVID-19 recovery efforts are truly both environmentally sustainable and inclusive.