Investing with Purpose: Why Gender Lens Investing is Key to Achieving the SDGs
- nwatters
- May 12
- 4 min read
By Carmen Correa, CEO of Pro Mujer.
e-MFP is pleased to be an Outreach Partner of the GLI Forum Latam, organised by our member Pro Mujer. #GLIForumLatAm2025 is the first event in Latin America entirely focused on promoting Gender Lens Investing as an effective way to drive equality and economic development in the region. In 2025, the GLI Forum Latam will explore how Gender Lens Investing can become a powerful catalyst to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this guest blog, Pro Mujer’s CEO Carmen Correa talks about how we’re falling short on progress to the SDGs, including and especially those relating to gender, and what the upcoming conference will offer for those working in this space.
We are five years away from the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, at our current pace, only 15% of these targets will be achieved. That figure should concern us all—but more importantly, it should move us to act.
As the CEO of Pro Mujer, a social enterprise that has been working to advance gender equality in Latin America for over 35 years, I’ve seen both the urgency of the challenges we face and the extraordinary opportunity that lies in front of us by shifting how and where we allocate capital.
We firmly believe that investing in women’s potential is not just about justice but also one of the smartest, most effective strategies to accelerate progress toward the SDGs. For instance, in Latin America, closing gender gaps in employment could increase GDP per capita by up to 20% (World Bank). However, only 6% of investment fund capital in the region goes to women-led businesses. The financing gap for women entrepreneurs currently stands at nearly $100 billion. If we’re serious about achieving the SDGs, we can’t leave half the population behind.
That’s why we created the GLI Forum Latam—a space where decision-makers, investors, and innovators can come together to rethink how we shift narratives, reimagine systems, and align capital with the future we want to build.
A Space to Connect, Collaborate, and Mobilize
Since its first edition in 2020, the Forum has grown into a dynamic meeting point for the region’s gender lens investing (GLI) ecosystem. Each year, we bring together diverse voices across sectors—from finance and government to entrepreneurship and civil society—to move from ideas to action.
Our 2024 edition in Buenos Aires welcomed over 900 participants from 23 countries, with more than 160 speakers across 40 panels, workshops, and sessions. But the real value of the Forum isn’t in the numbers—it’s in the depth of the dialogue, the serendipitous hallway conversations, and the rich, cross-sector exchange that takes place in every corner of the venue.
At the 2024 GLI Forum, held in Buenos Aires, participants didn’t just come to talk—they came to co-create. The Forum served as a powerful learning platform where ideas turned into actionable strategies. The energy in the room was underpinned by five key takeaways:
Act Locally, Think Systemically: There was broad consensus that translating global gender frameworks into local, context-specific action is critical—especially around policy, entrepreneurship, and caregiving systems.
Unpack Biases: Conversations surfaced the invisible barriers that women face in accessing finance and leadership roles. Tackling unconscious bias—through product design, workplace policy, and leadership development—was a recurring theme.
Data is Power: The lack of sex-disaggregated data continues to impede progress. Building robust information systems is a precondition for targeting resources effectively and avoiding “pink-washing.”
Collaboration is Non-Negotiable: From venture capitalists to civil servants, nearly every speaker returned to one theme—no single actor can move the needle alone. The Forum made visible the growing alliances among funders, governments, and community leaders.
Stories Matter: Beyond frameworks and metrics, the Forum uplifted stories of women breaking barriers. These narratives don’t just inspire—they shape policy and investment.
This emphasis on shared reflection and concrete action makes the GLI Forum a unique space in the region—not just a conference, but a platform for shaping the future of gender-lens investing.
Building on Momentum: What to Expect in 2025
This year’s edition—set in Mexico City at the historic Hacienda de los Morales—will take this momentum forward. With 2030 fast approaching, the Forum will be a space to reflect on what we’ve achieved, identify what remains to be done, and exchange ideas across sectors and lived experiences.
The agenda will spotlight:
Inclusive economic growth and the policies needed to sustain it
Innovative approaches to capital access for women-led businesses
Integrating gender equality into institutional priorities and investment frameworks
These themes are urgent—and grounded in reality. Gender-based inequality continues to shape access, opportunity, and outcomes across our societies. And yet, even amid a global gender backlash, we double down. Because we know investing in women doesn’t displace anyone. It strengthens everyone.
At Pro Mujer, we’ve seen this transformation firsthand. What began more than three decades ago as a microfinance initiative is now a broad, systemic push to embed gender into capital flows, product design, and public policy. Through our Gender Knowledge Lab, we work across sectors to bring a gender lens into decision-making. And through the GLI Forum, we build the coalitions needed to turn those ideas into reality.
This sixth edition offers a timely opportunity to convene a global, diverse community of changemakers committed to advancing gender equality in all sectors. To ensure broad access, most sessions will offer Spanish-English interpretation.
Join Us
We invite you to join us at the GLI Forum Latam 2025 and be part of a growing movement that is putting gender equality at the heart of economic transformation. The future is not something we wait for—it’s something we build. And we build it together.
About the Author:
Carmen Correa: With over three decades of experience in the development sector, Carmen has served as the CEO of Pro Mujer since 2022, driving the organization’s mission to create opportunities for women across Latin America. She first joined the organization as Director of Partnerships in 2017. Subsequently, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, overseeing Pro Mujer’s transformative social impact programs in Latin America, including initiatives to expand financial inclusion, deliver essential health and well-being services, and empower women through skill-building initiatives.
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