"As investors with experience in gender lens investing (GLI), our peers often ask us for information on how to kickstart their GLI journey. Many useful resources are available to do this. However, this brief addresses a gap in information on the tools and approaches used to design and implement gender-smart technical assistance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to improve their social and financial performance. We also share our reflections from our collective experience to date."

"The Gender Equality Scorecard© (GES©) Manual is the collective effort built upon SEAF’s work on the GES©, a tool SEAF developed to assess women’s economic empowerment and gender equality within growth-orientated small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”). The GES© Manual provides clear guidance on how to utilize the tool and objectively score a company when assessing it’s demonstrated commitment to gender equality through six gender equality performance vectors."

"By investing in gender inclusion, businesses can generate opportunities for women while also furthering their business objectives. In recognition of the opportunities outlined above, the Shell Foundation and Value for Women embark on a partnership in 2016 designed to pilot a holistic framework for gender inclusion in enterprise operations, using a "bottom-up", business-first approach, aimed at testing the impact of gender inclusion on business performance. The approach first hones in on business challenges, and then designs practical, measurable solutions with a gender lens."

"This paper is aimed to support DCED member projects to integrate gender considerations more fully into private sector development (PSD) measurement systems. It takes a first step at bridging the knowledge gap by: 1. Reviewing definitions of women’s economic empowerment, 2. Identifying current measures for women’s economic empowerment in WED, and 3. Offering practical ways forward for measuring household level change in women’s economic empowerment."

"This tool has been developed for businesses to allow them to directly enter data, in order to assess their business operations from a gender perspective at three levels: human capital, productivity management, and market. The tool will walk businesses through a three-step process to collect data about where women are within agribusiness operations, provide a report analyzing the data showing gender gaps in women and men participation as employees and suppliers, as well as highlighting the policies, practices and systems that should be in place for a business to support gender inclusion. Finally, the report will provide recommendations on action steps businesses can take towards increasing women's inclusion across core business areas."

"Today India, and the world, finds itself in the unenvious position of enduring two major economic recessions in a span of 10-12 years, unprecedented in modern history. In the aftermath of COVID-19, which has hit the small enterprise sector the hardest, where a majority of women-led ventures are recorded, it has become imperative to actively find avenues to encourage sustainable growth. This report delves deep into the various factors and circumstances inhibiting the growth of women-led enterprises, and further explores how women entrepreneurship can be encouraged while also being a force of change. Through various articles mentioned in this collection, which are based on original research studies conducted in this area during the pandemic, we seek to provide a snapshot of the existing obstacles, but also the way forward in promoting women entrepreneurship, which can be a major contributor in the socio-economic recovery of India."

"Globally, the literature on public sector experiences with GRP is limited. This report aims to contribute to the current knowledge base on how governments can better support women entrepreneurs and WLBs who seek to sell to the government. Most of the examples and case studies in this report come specifically from Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the City of Buenos Aires, which have developed GRP programs and are at different stages of implementation."

"Part of IFC’s Women on Boards and in Business Leadership Program, the publication features the inspirational personal stories of 20 female business leaders and their advice to other female professionals aspiring to top positions. It highlights the positive impact of their leadership on private sector development in emerging and frontier markets. It also provides key gender facts and data on the status of women on boards and in business leadership around the world."

"Within the entrepreneurial community there is growing recognition of the benefits of diversity, and more specifically of investing in women and gender equality. Despite this rising interest, most investors and intermediaries working with social enterprises and small and growing businesses (SGBs) are still in the early stages of understanding how best to incorporate a gender lens. This knowledge brief aims to share lessons and innovations from the Brazilian ecosystem on bringing a gender lens to supporting Brazilian SGBs. It focuses on four key topics, which emerged through a series of engagements, convened by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and supported by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), to catalyse thought leadership on gender inclusion and investing in Brazil."

"Existe, na comunidade empresarial, um reconhecimento crescente dos benefícios proporcionados pela diversidade e, mais especificamente, pelo investimento em mulheres e na igualdade de gênero. Apesar deste interesse crescente, a maioria dos investidores e intermediários que trabalham com empresas sociais e pequenas e médias empresas em crescimento (SGBs), ainda estão dando os primeiros passos na compreensão da melhor forma de incorporar uma lente de gênero. Este estudo visa compartilhar lições e inovações do ecossistema brasileiro sobre como trazer essa lente para apoiar as SGBs brasileiras. O estudo se concentra em quatro tópicos-chave, que surgiram através de uma série de encontros, convocados pela Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) e apoiados pelo IDS, para catalisar a liderança do pensamento sobre inclusão de gênero e investimentos no Brasil."