Unlocking Opportunities for Women Fund Managers .

In this technical brief, Sagana and Chemonics map the ecosystem of support to emerging female fund managers, and analyze the challenges, opportunities, and levers to make capital allocation more gender diverse.

Women and diverse fund management teams are correlated with better financial returns compared to their peers. Despite the strong evidence of higher returns and greater impact, women are severely underrepresented in the investment sector and their full economic potential remains unrealized. Research findings indicate that emerging female fund managers (EFFMs) face significant obstacles to raising capital in an investment industry characterized by gender imbalances and structural inequalities. These structural issues discourage the growth and create roadblocks for EFFMs. By putting more money into the hands of women, efforts to scale EFFMs will have a strong multiplier effect on downstream investments in women-led businesses, health systems, and climate change solutions.