Our best option for a better future....invest in Girls

Wednesday 11 October, is International Day of the Girl.  This is a day to reflect on how we can all better support the next generation of women to reach their full potential and to commit to gender equality which has proven time and time again to benefit families, communities and society.

Indigenous Women and Girls in Australia are some of the most marginalised and impoverished in the world. This weekend, I like many Australians will be voting YES to improve the lives of Indigenous Women, girls and communities. Voting YES in this referendum means recognising 65,000 years of Indigenous culture for the first time in Australia’s 122-year-old constitution. It also includes listening to advice from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about matters that affect their lives, so governments make better decisions and achieve better results for Indigenous health, education, employment and housing.

This year we have seen increased support for women's achievements in sport and popular culture, in addition to seeing women appointed to key leadership positions across business and government. Sadly, at the same time women's rights to education and autonomy have taken a setback around the world. In the U.S. we have seen women's rights challenged and books that champion gender equality banned.

As recently as this week we have seen conflicts around the world in Ukraine, Palestine and Israel subject all people to the horrific violence of war, environmental destruction and loss of freedom.

Research done by Julie Reilly and Australian’s Investing in Women Australia highlight the Federal Government's Status of Women Report Card 2023 and the challenges young women continue to face;

  • Australia is ranked 43rd for gender equality internationally.

  • Our first nations women and girls have poorer health outcomes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts

  • Today the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and non-Indigenous Australians is 10 years

  • On average, women aged 15 to 64 years do 55.4 hours of work a week, 2 hours more than men. 34.7 of these are unpaid.

  • 1 in 4 women (compared to 1 in 13 men) have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

  • In the last 10 years, there has been a three-fold increase in intentional self-harm hospitalisations for young girls.

  • A gender pay gap emerges immediately after graduation, full-time starting salaries average $69,000 for men and $67,000 for women.

  • Compared to the global average (21 per cent), more Australian men (30 per cent) believe that gender inequality doesn't really exist.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023 the year of expected gender parity is 2154, which is 131 years from now.

The Global Impact Initiative’s (GII) Gender Equality fund is the world’s first, actively managed impact fund for Women and Girls.  Gender equality is long overdue, and this investment solution enables investors to utilise investment capital to deliver empowerment for women in the workforce and better outcomes for girls' health, education, nutrition and social and economic empowerment. The fund has partnered with  Robeco, Grameen Australia, Malala Fund,  UN Women Australia,  UNICEF Australia and World Vision to accelerate social impact for women and girls.  

 

This innovative, impactful fund is available as a Dublin-based UCITs and the minimum investment is only $5,000. Please contact us via our website for more information should you be interested in investing in gender equality and helping to close the gender gap!

 

Giles Gunesekera