Transforming Capital for the Next Era: Gender Parity and the Expansion of the Investable Frontier

The report analyzes a projected $83 trillion wealth transfer to women, which could see women owning nearly 40% of global investable wealth by 2030. It argues that converting this ownership into 'allocator power'—specifically within private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC)—can reduce systemic risk, diversify innovation, and improve market performance. Despite rising wealth, women remain under-represented in senior financial roles and as recipients of VC funding. The document proposes a reinforcing sequence of actions for limited partners (LPs), general partners (GPs), and public markets to embed parity standards from initial investment to final exit.

• A massive wealth transfer is occurring, with $83 trillion projected to pass between generations, positioning women to hold nearly 40% of global investable wealth by 2030. This growth is visible globally, with North America holding the largest absolute stock ($23.8 trillion by 2030) and Asia-Pacific and Latin America showing the strongest momentum.
• There is a significant gap between women's share of global wealth and their influence in financial institutions. While women make up 43.5% of the total financial-services workforce, only 27.6% of senior management roles in the sector are held by women. In private equity and venture capital specifically, women hold only 19.9% of top-level management roles.
• Women-founded companies face severe funding disparities. In the US, start-ups founded exclusively by women accounted for only 5.9% of total venture capital deal count and just 1.2% of deal value as of October 2025. In Europe, all-female-founded start-ups captured 4.6% of deal count and 1.5% of deal value in 2024.
• Private equity-backed companies exhibit lower gender diversity than public companies. In the US, women hold only 17% of board seats in private companies that have raised at least $100 million. Furthermore, women in these firms are more frequently appointed as independent directors rather than executive or investor directors.
• Systemic frictions in capital allocation include a reliance on 'warm introductions' and biased due diligence, where women-led firms often face higher evidence and collateral requirements. Additionally, a lack of 'smart capital' and mismatched product offerings—specifically a scarcity of early growth funding (pre-Series A)—stalls the progression of women-led firms from Series A to B and C rounds.
• High allocator concentration in the US venture market creates systemic risk and innovation drag. In the first half of 2025, 12 US venture firms raised over 50% of total capital value, and the top 30 firms raised 74%. This concentration leads to 'pattern-matching' and correlated capital movements, which can turn local corrections into systemic risks.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Transforming Capital for the Next Era: Gender Parity and the Expansion of the Investable Frontier. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transforming_Capital_for_the_Next_Era_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Transforming Capital for the Next Era: Gender Parity and the Expansion of the Investable Frontier. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transforming_Capital_for_the_Next_Era_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Transforming Capital for the Next Era: Gender Parity and the Expansion of the Investable Frontier |date=December 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transforming_Capital_for_the_Next_Era_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025transforming, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Transforming Capital for the Next Era: Gender Parity and the Expansion of the Investable Frontier}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transforming_Capital_for_the_Next_Era_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }