From rhetoric to real world action on inequality
As EIIP launches a new web platform to support greater investor action on inequality our EIIP Director, Ceri Goddard, asks if not now then when?
The case for impact investors to play the fullest role they can in wider local, national and transnational movements to expose and tackle inequality has never been, nor felt, greater. These extraordinary times, with the COVID-19 pandemic combining with a multitude of preexisting inequalities, have surfaced an array of challenges, but also opportunities, for change that are now staring us full on in our collective face.
Few now will deny the existence of both structural and daily inequities and the damage they are inflicting on individual lives, our collective wellbeing and our work to sustain the planet we live in. Moreover, the ranks of those who recognise that such inequality is not inevitable and that things don’t always have to be this way, are visibly swelling.
This recognition has generated a palpable rise in levels of related rhetoric, from investors and others. Rhetoric that acknowledges the issues and produces powerful principles for, and commitment to, taking action. This is a good and important thing because, although rhetoric often gets a bad wrap, as recent times have powerfully reminded us – words do matter. Equality and human rights activists and advocates, especially those with lived experience of the issues, know this all too well; that speaking their truth to power, or even just to themselves, has always been key to change.
And they are increasingly being heard, their voices and hash tags from #blacklivesmatter, #shewasjustwalkinghome, #climatejustice, #endchildpoverty, #nothingforuswithoutus, #refugeeswelcome to #LoveWins increasingly reflected in the corporate messaging of investors. Messaging that acknowledges the need to add their voice and their finance if they are to contribute to real world change. However, we know that for many investors, whilst this messaging does indeed match their will, the way is not always clear.
Credit: Beccy Strong
The EIIP was created and is being forged as a response to just this need. The investors and equality and human rights actors that make us up have been working together to capture what constitutes equality impact investing . What practical strategies can be harnessed and using what core principles? Many of our number have gone further and just started doing it. This new EIIP website, and the next phase of our work that it marks, is focused on enabling the wider impact investing movement to do the same.
Across this site are examples of both individual investors and collectives who are moving from commitments to concrete action; including some literally putting their money where their mouth is. These pioneers have helped to kick start this new field of investing, but it remains wide open to, and will need, many more players to step in to further innovate and use it. As they do so, this site and the wider EIIP will seek to capture and share this important work with others .
We are particularly excited to see what the 85 UK and International social and impact investors who have just completed our first foundational EII course will now do, do more of or do differently. We are also looking forward to progressing work with them and others to advance the wider conditions needed to build and increase use of EII through policy change, professional standards, impact measurement and capacity building.
While the extent to which impact investing can be harnessed to tackle inequality and advance equality has its limits, we are still very far from reaching them. It’s all to play for, so if not now then when?