To mark International Women’s Day, UBS has released a comprehensive report titled Gender-Lens Investment: The State of Women in 2025, authored by Antonia Sariyska and Amantia Muhedini. The report explores the global status of women, highlighting persistent barriers to gender equality and the progress made so far. It also underscores the growing impact of gender-lens investing, offering insights into how investors can strategically allocate capital to drive meaningful change.

The report also sheds light on a troubling trend in venture capital. According to PitchBook data, the share of VC funding allocated to all-female teams in the U.S. peaked at just 2.5% in 2019 and has since declined to 2% in 2024. However, the proportion of all-female-led companies securing VC investment reached a high of 6.9% in 2023, highlighting a persistent funding gap—women-led businesses are securing more deals but receiving significantly less capital compared to their male counterparts.

Antonia Sariyska emphasizes the importance of understanding female consumers, stating, “Understanding female consumers is not just good business because of their rapidly rising spending power. It also is key to creating a flywheel of opportunity: better delivery of financial services, access to education and health care can better support and accelerate the development of women’s wealth.”