Reducing the legal, social, and economic disparities between women and men is a fundamental human rights issue. It is also critical to reduce poverty and achieve a stable, prosperous future for all.
The private sector plays a central role in advancing gender equality. In developing countries, it accounts for 90% of jobs, and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) generate up to 66% of permanent, full‑time employment. Beyond jobs, private sector companies can expand women’s economic empowerment by improving their access to products, services, and tools.
Women’s economic empowerment and gender equality has been one of FinDev Canada’s core development impact priorities since our launch in 2018. That same year, G7 partners launched the 2X Challenge at the G7 Summit in Canada, creating a shared framework for development finance institutions to mobilize capital for investments benefiting women’s financial advancement. This gender lens approach strengthens our contribution to poverty reduction and enhances business performance across our portfolio.
In 2019, we formalized our commitment to applying a gender lens to 100% of our transactions through the release of our Gender Equality Strategy. This commitment sets out a comprehensive approach to enabling women’s entrepreneurship, leadership, quality employment, and access to products and services. Alongside the 2X Criteria, this strategy forms the foundation of our gender lens investing (GLI) approach.
In 2025, as the G7 Summit returned to Canada, we commissioned our first independent impact evaluation, conducted by the advisory firm Kore Global. We aimed to assess gender equality outcomes across our portfolio investments and reflect on seven years of GLI. This evaluation, along with the synthesis of the impact of the 2X Criteria, came at a timely moment to share learnings across the development finance ecosystem. It also contributes to a growing evidence base on the impact of GLI.
The evaluation reviewed 30 investments made between 2018 and 2023, representing 60% of our portfolio over that period. These investments spanned across financial intermediaries, agribusiness, and the renewable energy sector, and included 2X-aligned and non-2X-aligned investments.
The evaluation assessed how these investments economically empowered women. Here are some findings from the evaluation, and what it means for our GLI approach going forward:
2X-aligned investments delivered the strongest gender outcomes
2X‑aligned investments achieved the strongest outcomes for women, reaffirming that the 2X Criteria serve as a credible and effective framework for driving gender impact. Going forward, we will continue using the 2X Criteria to screen our transactions through a gender lens.
Non-2X investments can also drive meaningful gender impact
Several non-2X investments demonstrated significant progress in advancing gender equality. This observation displayed the value of engaging all clients on gender issues to unlock transformative change. We will continue using the 2X Criteria as a tool to identify opportunities for gender inclusion with all clients, reinforced with advisory and technical assistance support.
Five recurring enablers drive stronger gender impactAcross both 2X-aligned and non-2X-aligned investments, the evaluation identified five common success factors among top performers:
- Strong senior leadership commitment: Greater positive outcomes were seen with portfolio companies whose senior leadership were committed to gender inclusion.
- Meaningful representation of women in leadership positions: Clients who met or exceeded the 2X Leadership criterion showcased greater outcomes.
- Dedicated internal resources to promote gender initiatives: Top-performing clients had dedicated resources and structures for gender integration.
- Systems to collect and use gender-disaggregated data: Portfolio companies that invested in systems that track women’s participation performed best as they were better able to understand and leverage gender-related trends in their operations.
- Clear recognition of the business case for gender inclusion: Top-ranked clients understood the link between gender equality and better business performance, identifying women as loyal customers, high-performing employees, or untapped markets.
Four case studies - Locfund Next, Ecobank, CASEIF IV, and Climate Investor One Fund - illustrate how these five factors can lead to transformative gender impact. We will seek out these enablers to identify high-potential clients and to shape our advisory and non-financial support.
The evaluation confirms that incorporating a gender lens throughout the investment lifecycle yields a stronger, more lasting impact on women’s economic empowerment. It also highlights practical levers investors can use to further drive transformative change across portfolios.
As we move forward, we will integrate these insights into the update of our Gender Equality Strategy later this year, grounding it in our client-centric and flexible approach to supporting our portfolio companies. Ultimately, the findings signal that GLI is not only advancing gender equality, but also driving more inclusive development outcomes across our work.