workplace diversity before making an investment. After investing, the Fund introduces external female candidates for board positions and sets gender diversity KPIs. Although the Fund releases annual impact reports, it does not share the gender KPIs, or outcomes achieved. For SIIF to foster transformative change, it should consider using established frameworks, such as the IFC’s (International Finance Corporation) Fund Manager guidance, 46 to formulate its gender lens investment strategy throughout the life cycle of an investment. This can be used at both the investment and portfolio levels. Features like gender-disaggregated metrics, for example, could provide deeper insights into how interventions influence attitudes and behaviors around women’s roles. Even though the Fund now embraces a gender lens in its strategy, the fears of its origin may continue to shape its approach. By directly addressing these dynamics, the Hataraku Fund has the potential to shift from implicit to explicit impact—helping to redefine equity in the workforce and beyond.
Going Deeper: Embracing Gender-Lens Investing SIIF’s Hataraku Fund and its women-focused initiatives have tried to impact women, but SIIF’s efforts must tackle the root cause of gender inequity. This is where the systems lens becomes critical: How do you integrate gender equity into every layer of business and practice? What are the underlying structures that need to be re-engineered to ensure that women have a sustainable place not just in visible roles, but across the organization? Instead of piecemeal solutions, a comprehensive strategy could link these efforts, creating a cohesive ecosystem of support that amplifies impact. There is a risk of falling into a surface-level or tokenistic approach to gender inclusion—where steps are taken to include women, but the deeper, systemic barriers that prevent genuine change remain untouched. It requires a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths about power dynamics and entrenched biases within organizations and society.
“I think systemic change can mean many things. And we’re struggling to define that ourselves still. But when we say systemic change, when we select our investees, it goes into whether that company has the potential to change what’s naturally thought to be fixed within that industry.”
—Sayaka Takatsuka, former Deputy Senior Manager at Shinsei Bank 47
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Ten Years in the Making
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