Articles & Commentary

In early February 2025, one month after returning from maternity leave, I joined Convergence XXI, a month-long global convening led by Criterion Institute dedicated to envisioning the next era of gender lens investing.¹ Practitioners from around the world, each of us bringing different experiences and perspectives on gender lens, met bi-weekly to discuss the state of the field and share our ideas about what might come next. Through these sessions we explored five possible “futures,” each representing a different way finance could advance gender equity.

Returning from maternity leave, conversations about equity, care, and systems resonated. And yet, deciding which future felt most aligned with my perspective proved surprisingly difficult. Throughout the month, I found myself reflecting on the tension between ambition and practicality, and how visionary change might take shape within the current US political and economic context.

The five futures presented a spectrum of possibilities for this work, from one where gender considerations become fully integrated across all sustainable finance to another where deep, niche, and locally grounded funds lead innovation through bold, context-specific approaches. Some futures envisioned universal standards and shared metrics that could bring scale and credibility, while others emphasized shifting power toward regional ecosystems and locally led capital strategies. The last vision imagined gender lens investing evolving into a movement for systemic change – one that redefines how capital flows, who holds power, and what kinds of value finance is designed to create.

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