Chapter 9A Start That's Here to Stay
“The future is already here—It's just not evenly distributed yet.”1
—William Gibson
Financial investment fads and products come and go. The churn is constant. What is hot today can be terribly cold tomorrow. Remember the Goldman Sachs BRIC Fund named for the strategy that put Brazil, Russia, India, and China all in the same basket? While a brilliant marketing label, the BRICs really did not have much in common and did not belong in the same basket. Although the fund was not designed to maximize social impact, as it turned out it didn't have much financial impact, either. In 2015, the fund closed after years of underperforming returns.2 By contrast, gender lens investing is no such fad.
Gender lens investing is neither a theme nor a product. It is a process conceived at the intersection of capital and culture. It is designed to cultivate financial and social value. And it is here to stay. Because investments have always, and will always, have an impact on gender equality: good, bad, or ugly. Recognizing women as an economic asset, and learning how gender affects our lives, is moving from the periphery to the core of the policies, strategies, and practices of nations, enterprises, and investors with each passing year. Arguably, the world has been on this path for as long as we have been alive, if not longer. One reason is the United States. As we wrote at the beginning of this book:
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