Inspiring investment for women

Inspiring investment ideas help female investors make empowered decisions. By investing in their financial confidence, women can tailor their financial journeys to what matters to them.

Gender-lens wealth in numbers

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    rise in the number of female billionaires between 2015 and 2024.

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    reduction in the gender health gap could inject 1 trillion USD into the global economy.

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    of global spending (USD) is expected to be controlled by women by 2030.

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Why do gender-lens investment strategies matter?

Gender-lens investments can significantly boost economic growth. 

Closing the gender gap in labor force participation and management roles alone could contribute an additional USD 7 trillion to global GDP. Achieving gender equality could increase this number to USD 22-28 trillion.

This potential economic gain is significant and illustrates that gender equality is not only a matter of fairness but also a crucial driver of economic growth. 

By implementing new strategies to advance women's roles in society, we can push for economic progress too.

Addressing women's needs can unlock opportunities

Gender-lens investments focus on addressing the specific needs of women, which are often overlooked. With women expected to control 75% of discretionary spending globally, addressing these needs can create significant business opportunities.

Why better understanding female consumers matters:

  • Rapidly rising spending power will reward innovative businesses that offer products and services that meet women's needs. 
  • A flywheel of opportunity is set in motion as better delivery of financial services, education and health care address gender gaps in these sectors.
  • Closing the gaps in turn leads to significant economic potential, as improved health and access to financial services allows women to contribute at a higher level to the global economy.

Investing in female-led businesses can enhance investor opportunities

Investing in female entrepreneurs can help close the venture capital gap and support the growth of female-led businesses. This enhances their economic potential and also offers interesting new opportunities for investors to capture returns. 

Barriers for female founders often start with a lack of access to financing at the early stages. However, our research indicates there has been some positive momentum. 

  • In 2024, the share of capital going to mixed-gender teams was 24%, double the share 10 years prior in 2014. 
  • Female-founded companies made up nearly 6% of total US exits in 2024.
  • Mixed-gender firms reached a new high of 25% of exits.

How to invest in yourself

Masters of craft

What does it take to make it to the top? We celebrate the remarkable women who are modern masters of their craft. 
Get to know the Craftmakers

Project Female Founder

Two women on white armchairs at the UBS Female Founder Award

    

     

Investing in women’s big ideas

Female entrepreneurs, globally, receive less funding than their male counterparts. This funding gap reduces their potential to innovate and grow successful companies and means investors may miss out on attractive opportunities. We offer a year-long program for investor readiness and networking to help women-founded businesses to advance.

Read more

Our investment in women

We believe that everyone should enjoy the same opportunity to maximize their wellbeing and empower the global economy. That’s why, together with our clients, we support organizations that also invest in women and girls to drive meaningful change.
  • Woman at work

    Partnering for impact

    Extensive research shows that empowering women increases productivity and economic diversity and improves household incomes. As the United Nations says, when women work, economies grow.

    Advancing the possibilities for women has many other benefits too. It helps to reduce poverty, raises child survival and life expectancy, expands employment possibilities and decrease rates of child marriage.

    That’s why our UBS Optimus Foundation is partnering with likeminded philanthropists, investors and organizations to make a difference in the wellbeing of thousands of girls and women across the world.

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    Meet our partners

    We’re proud to collaborate with visionary organizations that are making a difference in advancing Community Health Workforce. As part of our ongoing efforts to support girls and women around the world, we’re highlighting two of our key partners: Last Mile Health and Integrate Health.

    These organizations are among several we work with to lead the charge in empowering women within the global healthcare system.

  • Women with child

    The issues

    Professional community workers make up 70% of the global community health workforce and play a critical role in reducing child and adult mortality rates in Africa. Since 2004 they have helped save 100m children’s lives, cut AIDS-related deaths by 60% and addressed up to 50% of the malaria burden. Yet they face significant barriers, including safety concerns, inadequate pay and limited career advancement opportunities.

    Over 40 countries in Africa have committed to professionalizing their health workforce. Last Mile Health and Integrate Health are helping them implement scalable solutions.

    Read more
  • Health help

    The solutions

    The Framework for Action

    Last Mile Health and Integrate Health have combined their expertise to develop the ‘Framework for Action: Achieving Gender Equity in the Community Health Workforce’.

    It offers a roadmap of 16 actionable recommendations to elevate the status of women community healthcare workers and create a more equitable environment.

    Together with our partners and clients, UBS Optimus Foundation has contributed over USD 50m towards initiatives that support the professionalization of community health workforces across Africa. Our support is helping to break down barriers to equal pay, while improving career advancement and leadership opportunities for women throughout this vital sector.

    Read an interview with our partners
  • Woman on interview

    The power of supporting social entrepreneurship

    Our UBS Global Visionaries program has two goals: to create opportunities for clients to connect with leading social entrepreneurs, and to help the most trailblazing individuals and organizations to scale their solutions. We support changemakers with access to our networks and expertise so they can grow their ideas and scale their impact.

    Discover our UBS Global Visionaries

You can make an impact, too

Discover how we’re working to ensure quality health and education for all and learn more about our commitment to social impact.

Invest and grow

We believe that understanding investing for, by and in women can help unleash investor opportunity and economic growth. Discover a diverse range of perspectives on how gender and investing intersect and why it matters. 

Investing in women

UBS in collaboration with Monocle

New insight and diverse views on investing with a gender-lens, from female entrepreneurs to Nobel Prize laureates.

03 Mar 2025

International Women’s Day edition

To mark International Women’s Day, we hear from four inspirational female leaders in finance. They discuss gender-lens investing, the rise of female-controlled wealth and its effects on broader economics, and the challenges facing female founders seeking to raise capital. Featuring Anouk Hilti-Zingg of Assarée; Julia Rees Toader of independent portfolio advisory firm Princes Capital; Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund; and Ana Mahony, CEO of Addition Wealth.

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03 Feb 2025

The future of women’s wealth

Insights on the future of women’s wealth from the Equality Lounge at The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Emma Wheeler, head of the Women’s Wealth programme at UBS Global Wealth Management, joins the show to discuss how to better unlock investment potential for female founders and to consider the role of women within the unprecedented transfer of wealth currently happening across genders and generations.

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02 Dec 2024

Investing in women

The second of two specials focused on breaking barriers in economics and finance, brought to you by UBS and Monocle’s sister publication, ‘Konfekt’. This show features insights from Addition Wealth founder, Ana Mahony, and business leader Rania Anderson. Thanks to the partnership with UBS, you can read more about Mahony and Anderson in ‘Konfekt’s’ winter issue, available on newsstands now.

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Let’s invest confidently

Voices from across UBS share their advice and inspiration about why investing confidently matters, whether that’s in your financial future or your career goals.