By: Neerja Caprihan
If all of the kings had their queens on the throne…
beginning of the single ‘Kings and Queens’ by Ava Max
Let’s talk about the 2024 Olympics again before they fade out from public memory. From the initial days of the Olympics under Pierre de Coubertin’s presidency, the inclusion of women athletes in the games was a controversial subject. It was resisted largely due to the cultural ethos of those times, as women all over the world continued to be governed by the age-old diktats of patriarchal societies. It’s taken decades, if not centuries, for change to start showing. The Paris Olympics this summer proudly declared a 50% female participation1. Where we are today then, is a credit to the changed times and the collective efforts of generations of crusaders.
Gender Equality is the fifth in the series of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals put forth by the UN. It requires a paradigm shift in the psyche of people all over the world, and therefore can only happen over a course of time. In the professional sector, many organizations have made the attempt to incorporate it in their culture, and that’s a start. There are more women being considered for C-suite or D-suite openings, and that’s heartening. Institutions, platforms and roles that were traditionally for men are gradually opening up distinctive and meaningful opportunities for women, and that’s commendable. Whether establishments do so to look modern, or to not attract public ire, or because they truly believe in the value women can add, is secondary. One also needs to overlook the fact that for every one step forward, there will be days when the thoughtless words and actions of ignoble few will put humanity three steps back. But as someone said, progress is progress, no matter how small. Slow progress is fine too, as long as it is steady and sustained.
According to the Global Gender Gap 2024 report2 published by the World Economic Forum, the global gender gap score in 2024 for all 146 countries included in this edition has been at 68.5% closed. The report further states that based on current data, it will take 134 years to reach full parity – roughly five generations beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target.
The good news is clearly that it’s an improvement over the past, and really any past, even though that is a very generic comparison. The bad news is that, unless one is a giant tortoise or a bow-head whale, none of us will be alive to see it happen. So if we want to see changes or just an increase in their pace, surely we should pitch in right-away to stand up for this cause. We still won’t live to see the 100% result, but we will sleep well, and will have contributed to the progress of humanity, one cause at a time.
As an investor too, what can you do? Show that you care. And show that by investing in line with the values you care about. Did you know that Interactive Advisors explicitly offers a Gender Equality portfolio, and it is just one of our custom-curated and note-worthy Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) offerings? A comprehensive longer list covering other SRI spheres is here. Between them, there are plenty of options for you to choose from to pledge your commitment to the cause of equality and social justice.
If all of the kings had their queens on the throne, we would pop champagne and raise a toast.
Ava Max
PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.shutterstock.com/g/cagkan
VIA SHUTTERSTOCK
Footnotes:
1 https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality/gender-equality-through-time
2 https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/digest/
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