Global "March with Millions 10X Challenge" to Increase Financial Commitments for Gender Equality
NEW YORK, March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- UN Women and Women of the World Endowment (WoWE) have launched a global challenge to increase financial commitments to initiatives focused on financing the Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality (SDG5). WoWE is an initiative incubated by Global Development Incubator.
The 10X Challenge's objective is to catalyze gender responsive capital that accelerates the achievement of the SDGs by increasing financial commitments 10-fold on a rolling basis throughout 2020. The challenge starts today, with announcements of capital commitments towards the first targets; and an invitation for other actors to join.
We need to take bold and audacious steps towards meeting gender equality goals, If action continues at the current pace – it will be the year 2069 before we have gender parity in politics; 2114 before we have gender parity in lower education; and 2169 before we have equal pay for women.
WoWE has a strategy to demonstrate that allocating assets with a Gender Lens Investment (GLI) screen will yield at least the same risk-adjusted returns as a traditional endowment while delivering impact for women, girls and the communities they empower. WoWE's 10X Challenge is to multiply a US$5 Million contribution from Ruth Shaber who has said, "Building an institutional endowment committed to investing 100% of its capital to benefit women and girls is a once in a generation opportunity whose time is now."
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Director of UN Women, said: "Now is the time for big, bold investments in gender equality, so that progress for women and girls is accelerated. UN Women welcomes this partnership's efforts as a stake in the ground as we invite others to increase financing for gender equality."
UN Women working with UNCDF and other UN agencies, has partnered with WoWE, on innovative finance that directs significant pools of capital towards gender equality and women's empowerment in ways that accelerate SDG outcomes and visibly benefit communities and the billions of women and girls around the world.
About UN Women
UN Women is the only global Entity mandated by all members of the United Nations to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. The Entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and a more inclusive world.
About WoWe
Women of the World Endowment was founded to provide institutional financial support to accelerate gender lens investing. WoWE seeks to demonstrate the most impactful ways to invest across all asset classes and catalyze systemic change through market focused analytics. To date WoWE has invested in high scoring sustainability As You Sow mutual funds (rating B or better across gender balance, deforestation free, fossil fuels free, weapon free, Tobacco free) representing a market cap of $786.48M.
SOURCE Global Development Incubator Inc
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