Financial services giant Legal & General (L&G) Group has launched a “Girl” fund for investors who want to back gender diversity at UK-listed companies.
The L&G Future World Gender in Leadership UK Index Fund1 – Girl for short – is expected to promote a better gender balance across the equity market by allocating more cash to the firms making the most progress in removing glass ceilings for their women employees.
It will be available to individual investors through L&G Investment Management (LGIM)’s personal investing platform and also to financial advisers.
LGIM will score and rank companies according to four gender diversity measures: women on the board of directors; women executives; women in management; and women in the workforce.
Companies are expected to reach a minimum of 30% representation of women in these four measures.
Now that companies have begun to report their gender pay gap data, the investment manager will consider incorporating this as a potential fifth measure.
Helena Morrissey, head of personal investing, LGIM, said: “Gender inequality is one of the key issues of our time – and one that generates so much frustration.
“Rather than feeling trapped or despondent, let’s do something about it.
“I’m excited about the launch of the Girl Fund, which empowers us all to use our money to help companies to progress.
“When we invest in the success of women, we are investing in the success of business.
“Collectively, we can help achieve gender equality and improve gender diversity in the UK.”
L&G is putting £50 million of its own funds into Girl, which it hopes will help to deliver more parity between the sexes at UK-listed companies.
Group chief executive Nigel Wilson, who has five daughters, said he had an “enlightened self-interest” in the issue.
He said: “I’ve really, really understood, growing up with daughters, how difficult it is to actually achieve equality in the workforce.
“On many levels, absolutely, we have to back all of these great ideas with our own money.
“This is just helping to kick-start what I hope will be a hugely successful fund, right across the UK, that people see that actually this is a fund which can make a difference, and make a positive difference.”
LGIM is one of Europe’s largest asset managers and a major global investor, with assets under management of £983 billion.
It works with a wide range of global clients, including pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, fund distributors and retail investors.
Professional services giant PwC has estimated gender parity could boost the UK economy by £180 billion a year.
PwC’s latest Women in Work Index – an annual measure of women’s economic empowerment – shows the UK fell from 14th to 15th position among 33 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
Iceland, Sweden and Norway are in the top three positions on the index.
