The Gender-Lens Is Not Pink: Rethinking How We Fund for Equity

In Asia, gender inequality isn’t just a human rights issue. It’s a systems issue and an investment failure. Across the region, half the population continues to be shut out of opportunity—not by chance, but by design. From restrictive gender norms to structural exclusions in policy, finance, and data, the systems around us were never built for women to succeed. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 predicts it will take another 123 years for women to achieve equality with men. At this pace, it won’t just be our daughters—it’ll be our great-granddaughters who inherit this inequity.

All That is Pink is Not Progress

Many investments falter by not recognising that the issues women face are structural and interconnected. For decades, investments in women have been framed as charity. Microloans, scholarships, support for surgeries, and similar interventions help women, but only as individuals. They fail to address the root causes of inequalities that women face. Building a school without tackling gender norms won’t keep girls enrolled. Distributing menstrual products without improving sanitation infrastructure changes little. Investing in skilling without addressing mobility and safety won’t unlock jobs.

When the focus is only on access or services, without transforming the social conditions in which women live, meaningful or lasting change cannot be achieved. As philanthropy witnesses a shift towards strategic, longer-term solutions, gender-lens investing is increasingly used to enable women’s access to products, services, and facilities as per their needs. Organisations need to ensure they don’t focus only on surface-level aspects instead of driving structural progress.

Gender-Lens Investing (GLI): Not Soft, Not Niche, Not Optional

Despite growing popularity, gender-lens investing remains widely misunderstood. It is wrongly seen as “soft or pink capital,” relevant only to education or maternal health. As a result, many women still do not have decision-making roles in critical areas like disaster response, which disproportionately impact women.

Investors also often believe that gender-lens investing requires a trade-off between returns and impact. On the contrary, data and evidence from the International Finance Corporation suggest that portfolio companies with gender-diverse leadership teams outperform less-diverse ones by up to 25%. GLI uncovers overlooked markets, strengthens risk mitigation, and creates more resilient economies. Gender is not a sidebar issue—it is a lens through which every investment decision should be made. If we continue to see GLI as pink, we’ll continue to miss both the point and the opportunity.

The Future is Systems-Oriented, Intersectional, and Locally-Led

Fortunately, there are signs of change. A growing number of philanthropic initiatives are beginning to set new benchmarks for gender-lens investing. They are moving away from fragmented, short-term grants and committing instead to long-term funding that strengthens the leadership, capacity, and advocacy of women-led organisations. These efforts recognise that women are not a homogenous group and deliberately address intersections of gender with caste, class, religion, and geography. Many are also formulating GLI frameworks that emphasise that solutions for women must come from women, improving representation of women leaders in organisations.

The Asia Gender Equality Fund is one example. It aims to mobilise USD 25 million over five years towards women-led organisations across Asia. In its third round, the fund targets gendered impacts of climate change, such as land rights, food insecurity, and disaster resilience, while elevating women as leaders of local solutions. The fund not only channels resources to underfunded communities but also invests in establishing women as leaders for climate action. This ensures climate initiatives are linked firmly with access, equity, and women’s decision-making power.

Tools matter too. Pipeline sourcing ensures women-led and gender-focused organisations are not overlooked. Structured due diligence checklists bring gender risks and opportunities to the surface, making evaluations fairer. Tracking gender-disaggregated data allows funders to see where impact is happening and where gaps remain. When these tools are used, gender considerations become embedded in every stage of investment, turning intent into meaningful action.

GLI Done Right Changes Power, Not Just Programmes

Rather than funding women-only projects or traditionally “feminised” sectors, investing with a gender lens can ensure inclusive and equitable outcomes for all women. With GLI done right, women across regions, genders, classes, castes, religions, and social and economic backgrounds can be effectively represented. Not only can the present generation benefit from funded solutions, but a pathway is paved for future generations to access opportunities and decide their paths without interference from regressive norms.

It’s time for funders, investors, and philanthropists across Asia to treat gender not as an add-on, but as a baseline. Not just to ask, “What are we doing for women?” but, “How are our investments reinforcing or reshaping gendered realities?” Equity is not just about who gets a seat at the table. It’s about who built the table in the first place.

Vidya Shah is Executive Chairperson, Edelgive Foundation & Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO, AVPN