The super fund announced the news on Tuesday, revealing that it will allocate its members’ super investments in part based on how Australian companies perform on gender equality measures.
The index uses data from private sector organisations with over 100 employees that submit an annual report to the WGEA.
Verve co-founder and chief executive, Christina Hobbs, said the Verve gender equality index will “set a new standard of gender diversity and ethical investing by using data collected by WGEA to inform portfolio construction”.
“For decades research has shown that companies that promote gender equality and inclusion perform better, yet no Australian super fund has previously taken that information seriously in terms of how they invest. That’s a major missed opportunity,” Ms Hobbs said.
“Our members know all too well that money equals power, and they don’t want their own super savings invested in companies that are failing women. It’s not good enough to keep supporting the status quo – where there are more Andrew’s in CEO positions in the ASX 200 than women.
“With so much frustration about the glacial progress on gender equality at a political level, we’re giving Australians the opportunity to use their collective superannuation power to put pressure on corporates to be better employers for women.”
Neil Griffiths
Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.
Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.
