Our Commitment to Gender Equality

Sefa exists to improve society by supporting Social Purpose Organisations to generate transformational impact. For this work to be effective, the inequalities that structure society cannot be ignored, including gender inequality.

Sefa has deployed more than 50% of our loans to women-led or co-led enterprises, amounting to over $24million of investment. Additionally, over 70% of our capability building engagements have been with organisations with women leaders. However, by being gender aware across our activities and recognising women’s unequal access to information, networks, power and capital we can adopt intentional processes to better understand gender dynamics and distribute resources more effectively for greater impact.

As a champion for others, Sefa advocates for systems change, aims to change mindsets and instigates conversations to challenge the sector. Sefa practices its values by recognising its role in contributing to the conversation on gender discrimination and inequalities and by committing to working collaboratively toward changing the unequal structure of gender relations.

Sefa is well placed to contribute to gender equality with a culture that supports inclusivity and deeply values different perspectives and experience. Notwithstanding, as an organisation we recognise that it is critical to preserve these values by adopting internal policies and procedures that encourage diversity and create a respectful and safe environment for our people to thrive.

We acknowledge that embedding a gender lens is a work of continual improvement and are committed to reflection and ongoing learning. We also acknowledge that barriers and challenges exist for other marginalised and underrepresented groups, with gender equality being but one way to build resilience, mitigate risk, create opportunities for investing in equity and unearth underserved opportunities. 

Gender-Aware Roadmap:

At Sefa, we’re committed to driving gender equality as a key enabler of transformational social impact. Sefa integrates gender-aware practices across our four key operational pillars: internal processes, engagement, investment, and influence.

Creating an Inclusive Workplace:

We’re building internal policies and procedures that support flexible, respectful, and inclusive work environments. Our hiring processes are being redesigned to attract a diverse and talented workforce, while regular training and access to toolkits will help staff understand and apply gender equality principles.

Building Evidence and Accountability:

To measure progress, we’ll collect and analyse gender-disaggregated data on our engagements, investments, and portfolio performance. By auditing past activity, we’ll establish a baseline of gender indicators to inform future reporting and decision-making.

Embedding Gender in Investments:

Sefa will update its loan application and selection processes to assess gender composition and impacts in potential investee organisations. Gender reporting will become a standard feature of quarterly audit and portfolio reviews, ensuring that our capital supports equitable outcomes.

Influencing the Sector:

We’re leveraging our position in the social impact ecosystem to instigate conversations and share insights about gender equality. By contributing to the evidence base, we aim to inspire other organisations to adopt gender-aware practices and accelerate systemic change.