Bank giant Barclays has announced that it is creating a new financial product which will allow investors to bet on companies with women at the top.
On Tuesday 9th July, the British-based bank giant began trading ETNs, or exchange-traded notes, that track a “Women in Leadership” (WIL) index of US companies with gender-diverse leadership. The new ETNs will cater to investors who seek social value as well as profitable returns.
Research shows that companies with a good number of women in charge tend to perform well for investors. Now Barclays BCLYF has launched a product to enable investors to play the female leader corner of the market.
The new index will be composed of companies with a female chief executive officer or women making up at least one-fourth of the board of directors, Barclays said in a statement.
“Women are significantly underrepresented in corporate executive leadership, yet a growing body of third-party research suggests that gender-diverse leadership may correlate with relatively stronger corporate performance, as compared to companies with less gender-diverse leadership,” said Barbara Byrne, Vice Chairman in Investment Banking. “We believe that providing ETNs and indices that enable investors to allocate capital to this theme will provide a market-based approach to help catalyze change.”
Author Bio:
By Caroline Graham, Editor WeAreTheCity India
Based in Mumbai, Caroline is leading our new site, WeAreTheCity India, targeted at local and International women living and working in India.
Caroline is passionate about empowering women and helping them achieve independence. By offering support and encouragement through various women’s networks she has seen an increase in women’s self-belief and their drive to succeed. She offers networks in the UK and India.
