Gender lens investing has traditionally focused on use-of-proceeds instruments such as social and sustainability bonds that earmark a portion of proceeds for gender-focused initiatives. These predominantly corporate-issued instruments, though still a small share of the overall market, have grown steadily in recent years - from roughly USD 5 billion outstanding in 2020 to nearly USD 15 billion by the end of 2023. They play a critical role in catalyzing awareness, innovation, and market credibility, with built-in accountability and transparency mechanisms that remain central to advancing gender-lens investing.
At the same time, gender-focused bonds alone will not close the gender gap. Their real contribution has been to embed gender into the language of capital markets and to demonstrate how measurable outcomes can be tied to financing structures. The next phase of innovation must build on this foundation by moving beyond isolated instruments toward integrated strategies that position gender as a core driver of value, risk, and resilience across fixed income markets.
There is emerging consensus among market actors that gender impact should not be confined to “Gender or Orange Bonds”. Instead, examining how issuers embed gender into their overall strategy - through leadership, workforce, operations, and policies - can unlock a wider set of opportunities. Investors are increasingly recognizing and rewarding such issuer-level integration, even when proceeds are general purpose. The growth of the 2X Challenge and the use of SDG 5 benchmarks for sovereigns are helping set the standards for this broader approach
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