International Women’s Day (IWD) offers investors a chance to assess the role of gender equality and diversity in their portfolios. The 2025 IWD theme, ‘accelerate action’, encourages businesses to address gender imbalances in areas like recruitment and leadership.
Investors are increasingly recognising the value of gender equality and diversity in driving better returns while achieving social impact. Research shows that companies with a forward-thinking approach to diversity, particularly in board and senior leadership roles, tend to outperform peers.
Meanwhile, regulators are pushing companies to improve gender equality in management teams. In Europe, the Gender Balance on Corporate Boards Directive, effective from 2024, sets a target for publicly traded businesses to have at least 40% female representation among non-executive directors, or a minimum of 33% across both executive and non-executive directors, by mid-2026.
Progress is being made, especially in larger European firms. Data published in February 2025 showed that women held 43.4% of board positions among the UK’s 350 largest listed companies in 2024. Among the G7 nations, only France, at 45.4%, has a higher level of female representation.
The need for corporate engagement
In 2019, Nordea Asset Management (NAM) launched the Global Diversity Engagement strategy to capitalise on growing awareness of diversity and inclusion. The strategy focuses on investing in companies that lead in gender equality and diversity, while also engaging with those at earlier stages of their diversity journey to help accelerate progress.
For example, in August 2023, we began working with Torex Gold, a mid-sized Canadian mining company. Its progress in diversity has been largely driven by the CEO, emphasising the importance of top-level commitment for successful change. Our engagement focused on maintaining these diversity values and ensuring ongoing progress, regardless of leadership changes. Torex Gold has demonstrated strong commitment by formalising responsibility and disclosing gender pay gap and equal pay policies. While not an industry standard, this transparency has helped attract more female talent.
Among the diversity leaders in our Global Diversity Engagement strategy is US-based homebuilder, Taylor Morrison Home Corporation. Despite the traditionally male-dominated industry, the company has achieved gender balance at all levels – including the board, executive, middle management, and workforce. Its focus extends beyond gender to include age, nationality, and ethnic diversity, better reflecting America’s diverse homebuying population. The company’s dedication to inclusivity is evident in initiatives targeting diverse talent acquisition, expanded data disclosure, and fostering a culture of belonging.
By Julie Bech, portfolio manager of Nordea’s Global Diversity Engagement strategy
