Social impact investing: Opportunity or ghetto for women?

Mathew Weatherley-White shares his experiences as a member of the male minority within a female dominated social-impact investing world.

According to Financial Planning, “women lead and populate in this sector, more so than in any other in the financial services industry.”

There are the women who founded firms focused on impact investing, including Andrea Turner Moffitt, who started Plum Alley Investments; Patricia Farrar-Rivas, a founding principal and the CEO of Veris Wealth Partners; and Erika Karp, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Capital.

There are also the women providing the tools, such as Susan Balloch, the chief operating officer of Global Impact Investing Network, and Jean Rogers, the CEO and founder of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.

Then there are the women controlling foundations and pension money and moving it in the direction of socially responsible investing, including Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, and Cheryl Eason, the deputy executive officer and chief financial officer of CALpers.

“Women are drawn to the broader responsible social conversation,” says Weatherley-White.

The concentration of women raises a perhaps uncomfortable question: Is the social-impact investment advisory sector a haven or a ghetto for women?

Article written by Miriam Rozen, published by Financial Planning.