Financial Feminism: A Woman’s Guide To Investing for a Sustainable Future

by Jessica Robinson

As we face global challenges like climate change and inequality, what if women could use their investments to build a cleaner, fairer and more sustainable world?

Financial feminism – the belief in the financial equality of women – has been gathering momentum, largely in the context of the gender pay gap: on average a woman earns 80% of what a man does. But there’s another gap – the gender investing gap – which shows women are investing less than men, saving less for retirement and parking more in cash. When compounded by the gender pay gap, this results in a significant shortfall, but there’s more to financial feminism than simply addressing these gaps: women also care about where their money is invested and the impact it can have.

In this practical and accessible guide, sustainable investing expert Jessica Robinson shows how through financial feminism, women can use their financial power to invest in a sustainable future and build the kind of world they want to live in. With jargon-free explanations and real-world examples, she demystifies the financial services industry, breaks down just what sustainable investing is and demonstrates the societal and environmental impact of the investment decisions we make.

Arming women with the information they need to get started – and keep going – she hopes that more women will embrace financial feminism, invest to grow their own wealth and, in doing so, use their financial decisions to demand a better world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance, Feminism

276 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2021

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was actually incredibly helpful, as I’ve never really taken a business or accounting class I didn’t quite understand the specifics of investing, but now after reading this book not only do I understand a broad spectrum of investing jargon but also how I can use my money to invest in sustainable companies and make a long term impact in creating a greener, more ethical future! I really enjoyed :)

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backed this on Unbound; can’t wait to dive in.

[Sian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book, I devoured it. I pre-bought the book because I know the author, and wanted to learn more about sustainable investing - the book delivered more than just the first lesson.

I'm not an active investor yet, so this is a really well informed place to get started. Packed full of actionable tips, and real resources, not to mention fascinating (and sometimes surprising) data and statistics backed up by extensive third-party research. Jessica is an expert in the subject matter, yet writes in such an accessible way I never felt overwhelmed by industry buzz-words and acronyms that I didn't know.
This is certainly a book I will come back to several times on my journey to learning about sustainable investing, and what I can do to make sure my money has the impact I want. It's the WHAT, HOW and WHY

Disclaimer - I know the author (but this review is no less genuine, probably more so!)

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. I appreciated the thesis of this book - sustainability in investment from a feminist perspective. I rated it a little lower than a 4 because I was looking for more historical, sociological research on a feminist perspective in finance and investment. The majority of the book was on the role of sustainability in investment and opportunities for women who often prefer impact investing in addition to a financial outcome. The book did a great job of citing different organizations that are making investing more democratic and tracking data on sustainable investing (environment, gender equality, LGBT, racial justice, etc). This book has been a good start for me in this field but I’m going to want to read more on this subject as I consider how I can be a sustainable investor. Definitely a book that can spark some good discussions and start and maintain the conversation and hopefully action.

[Nays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blown away by this book! A really comprehensive summary of the sustainable investment space and how to get involved. Great for newcomers and existing investors alike, I’ve been investing for about a year and I learnt a lot from this book. Would really recommend for anyone looking for new ways to make their money do good things in the world!!

[Giulia Zzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for those who want to try to align their money and investments with their values for a more sustainable world. I appreciated reading about it and felt hopeful for how the financial world is moving towards greater gender equality and sustainability (although we are so far away and it is a sloooow movin').

[Joan Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book, I devoured it. I bought the book because I know the author, Jessica Robinson (both of us are feminist, environmentalist and financial specialist; in addition, we all graduated from the same school and workplace, how the world is so small), and wanted to learn more about Financial Feminism - As the world faces global challenges like climate change and inequality, what if women could use their investments to build a cleaner, fairer and more sustainable world?

Financial feminism - the belief in the financial equality of women - has been gathering momentum, largely in the context of the gender pay gap: on average a woman earns 80% of what a man does. But there's another gap - the gender investing gap - which shows women are investing less than men, saving less for retirement and parking more in cash. When compounded by the gender pay gap, this results in a significant shortfall, but there's more to financial feminism than simply addressing these gaps: women also care about where their money is invested and the impact it can have.

In this practical and accessible guide, sustainable investing expert Jessica Robinson (former working in UN PRI) shows how through financial feminism, women can use their financial power to invest in a sustainable future and build the kind of world they want to live in. With jargon-free explanations and real-world examples, she demystifies the financial services industry, breaks down just what sustainable investing is and demonstrates the societal and environmental impact of the investment decisions we make.

Arming women with the information they need to get started - and keep going - she hopes that more women will embrace financial feminism, invest to grow their wealth and, in doing so, use their financial decisions to demand a better world.

Would recommend it to anyone looking for new ways to make their money do good things in the world!!

#financialfeminism #sustainableinvestment #financialinclusive

[Gurney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My partner purchased this book as a softback as she was interested in a sustainable way to invest. As the COVID-19 pandemic has led to record low interest rates then we both started to look away from standard banking and towards other areas that may offer higher returns. One of her goals was to try and invest in a responsible and sustainable way and to avoid managed hedge funds that may be fiscally viable, but morally dubious. I was slightly sceptical about reading the book as I thought it would be firmly seated in the ‘feminist camp’ but this is not the case at all, and it is applicable to the male investor as well as the female. There is obviously a feminist skew which details the drive towards parity between the sexes, but nothing that would preclude the male investor from benefitting from reading this. The tone and readability of the book is excellent with a lot of business and finance jargon either abandoned or explained in a manner that can be understood by someone, like myself, that is relatively unfamiliar with such terms. Overall, it is a very interesting take on the subject and I want to reinforce that it is more extensive and comprehensive than the title may initially lead you to believe.

[Ed Fernyhough · Rating 4 out of 5]

My one major criticism of this book is that it obviously only speaks to women who live in developed & relatively liberal societies, women who can earn salaries from professional jobs, open bank accounts, and speak to financial advisors on an even footing. All of these things assume a basic degree of literacy, numeracy, and social, political, & legal equality, which not everyone in the world has access to. In that sense, this book isn't arguing for the overhaul of pre-existing capitalist systems that cause gross global inequalities not just of wealth but also of access to fundamental resources and social goods, but is written to help relatively well-off people better navigate pre-existing fiscal systems. Nevertheless the emphasis on ESG and SDG is welcome and there are some other useful bits and pieces. Probs a 3.7/3.8

[Jovita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very practical book for women who consider starting to invest, particularly in sustainable businesses. I liked the fact that it is written from a female angle, taking into consideration the main barriers for women to invest (though, this could be more explored throughout the book). The author targets women with no experience in investment, thus she covers basic concepts (just warning, if you have some experience investing, some parts might appear too simplistic), also, shares practical ideas how and (even where e.g. fintech platforms) to start. The book focuses mainly on the US and Europe but many principles can be tailored to other contexts, too. Overall, it will not teach how to invest but will provide some ideas where to start your personal research.

[Kiyomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to what I thought I was going to learn, this book had simultaneously too much and not enough information! The copy I read was a library book, but ideally I would have delved into the first few chapters with a pen, some highlighters and sticky notes to make sense of the condensed “Investing 101” section, which was dense with concepts and jargon definitions. I really appreciated the practical focus toward the end of the book, and would have loved to see more discussion of investing on a smaller scale. Overall, however, this book was useful to kickstart my exploration of the topic.

[Taura · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 got a copy of this book in it's funding round at unbound and loved it. it's so helpful to get an understanding of first some basic investment info (education i think is lacking for me and a lot of women i know) and then to really dive into how i can target the kind of investment priorities i have. if we all make better choices about what we invest in we can change the way the companies behave when it comes to sustainability!

[Trishagni Sakya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic. Doesn’t really do a good job of navigating the sustainable investing world. But if you have absolutely no idea how to start then this is a good crash course. This is definitely not enough though. I felt like hard research was lacking.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starting point to getting comfortable understanding finances.