Empowering Through Equity: EQ’s Journey Towards Gender Inclusion in Finance

In the ever-evolving finance landscape, our commitment to “Moving Money to Meaning” propels us to invest strategically, to drive impact on both financial and social fronts. Acknowledging the significance of ensuring gender equity, we are applying a gender lens to our internal processes and investments, taking steps to foster a more inclusive global financial ecosystem.

Assessing the Landscape

To ensure our actions align with our aspirations, we partnered with EA Consultants for their expertise in gender and development. The focus areas were threefold: fundraising, internal human resource practices, and investments in financial Institutions, to delve into the intricate dynamics surrounding gender inclusion.

This introspection provided valuable insights into our HR and investment practices, prompting us to consider where we can improve our practices to be more inclusive of not only women but also our ethnically and culturally diverse staff.

Internally, we scrutinized our recruitment, selection, and retention strategies, leading to updates in our recruiting practices, internal communication, and grievance policies—a stride towards a more inclusive workplace.

On the investment side, we looked at due diligence, risk analysis, and investment monitoring processes that affect gender outcomes at both the FIs and end-user levels. EA Consultants conducted desk research and interviews with EQ Board members, management, and staff, the assessments identified areas where we could better align our gender metrics to Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) requirements. Additionally, we are also exploring the incorporation of ESG/impact investing metrics frameworks like IRIS+.

Moving Forward: A Collective Journey

As we concluded the assessment phase, we are moving forward with diligence. Implementation of recommendations is underway internally, and our collaboration with EA Consultants continues.

Looking ahead, we will be initiating a partnership with the SIPA program at Columbia University, that will allow us to design effective support and technical assistance to investees committed to advancing gender equity.

We invite you to follow our journey as we navigate the path toward meaningful change in the microfinance landscape.

Stay tuned for updates on our website and LinkedIn, where we’ll candidly share our findings, challenges, and successes. Together, we are taking deliberate steps toward a future that is more inclusive, equitable, and impactful.