Climate change disproportionately affects women due to entrenched gender and social inequalities. As climate impacts intensify, women face job losses, increased caregiving duties, and reduced economic opportunities. This disparity is stark: the UN estimates that 80% of those displaced by climate change are women, who are also 14 times more likely to die following natural disasters.
At the same time, women, who play crucial roles in businesses, communities, and households, can be pivotal in addressing the climate crisis. Climate-related projects and policies that involve women have proven to be more effective. If women farmers had the same access to productive resources as men, 100 to 150 million people would be lifted out of hunger.
As we reach the midpoint of the “decisive decade” for climate action, investors must take note of how women can act as powerful multipliers of benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation. When it comes to investment strategy, product creation, and overall business approach, applying a gender and broader intersectional lens not only supports gender equality but can also help achieve better financial and climate outcomes.
Elsewhere, the link between gender and climate action is becoming increasingly recognized. Companies with a higher proportion of women on their boards exhibit lower emissions growth rates. A study surveying around 2,000 listed companies from 2009 to 2019, found a 1 percentage point increase in the share of female managers leads to a 0.5% decrease in CO2 emissions.
In this context, the gender-climate nexus is gaining momentum among investors. More are recognizing that supporting women as key drivers of climate solutions is both a wise financial strategy and a crucial step toward effective climate action.
As the Chief Catalyst at donor-advised fund (DAF) Heading for Change, I’ve supported a strategy behind building a global portfolio that is gender-balanced, with many funds led or owned by women, integrating broader diversity approaches and focusing on a variety of climate and nature-related themes. One of the funds in our portfolio is Unconventional Ventures, a Nordic early-stage VC that integrates climate, gender, and diversity into its investment strategy. Their portfolio addresses climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable water use, circular economy, and biodiversity restoration, while also supporting gender and diversity initiatives.
Another fund in our portfolio, AiiM Partners, is a leading sustainability fund that focuses on emissions reduction and biodiversity while prioritizing companies led by women and people of color. AiiM’s investment process emphasizes rapid commercial adoption and actively supports women's professional growth in its portfolio companies. We encourage investors to look at the portfolio of funds we invest in and feature as leading examples of vehicles and structures that are advancing climate solutions with a gender lens.
There is growing momentum to scale up climate finance and achieve a just transition. The World Economic Forum estimates that achieving the Paris Agreement’s climate goals will require an additional $3.5 trillion in global investments annually. Women must be a part of this equation. It’s time to create more accessible pathways for philanthropists to adopt values-based approaches to investing with gender and climate at the center.
In the meantime, I am excited to be in this period where there is momentum and commitment towards scaling up climate finance and a just transition. There are accessible pathways for other philanthropists and in particular, women and next-gen wealth holders who are adopting more values-based approaches that center themes like gender and climate. Philanthropists in particular can important role in funding the capital stack in various ways: by investing in DAFs that support climate and gender; by providing catalytic and first-loss capital to support emerging managers; and by mobilizing other capital to follow along.
The proof points are there — on the business and impact fronts — now is the time to move the money and achieve better climate, gender, and social outcomes for all.
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