Name: Jacqueline Ovens
Company: Equality Fund
Position: VP, Investment Program
Website: https://equalityfund.ca/
About Jacqueline Ovens
Jacqueline is the VP of the Investment Program at the Equality Fund, a groundbreaking initiative that fuses investment with feminist philanthropy to catalyse long-term, transformative change for gender equality. At the core of the Equality Fund’s approach is a powerful model that integrates high-trust grantmaking and strategic investments to support women-led and gender-focused movements around the world.
One of Jacqueline’s key responsibilities is overseeing the fund’s ambitious goals to ACTIVATE $255 million CAD across a variety of investment sources over the next 15 years, mobilising resources for feminist organising and gender equality. The fund’s aim is to channel this capital into projects and organisations that advance gender justice and empower marginalised communities, including girl-led and trans-led initiatives.
The fund is also focused on DISRUPTING existing power dynamics by shifting financial resources to women-led and women-focused funds, businesses, products, and services. Jacqueline is instrumental in ensuring that investments prioritise women’s leadership and address systemic barriers, making sure that those most affected by inequality are empowered to shape their own futures.
In addition, the Equality Fund is dedicated to SUSTAINING the long-term impact of its efforts by ensuring that returns from investments continue to support its catalytic grantmaking. This ensures that the fund’s work remains financially sustainable and that feminist movements around the world receive continuous support in the years to come.
A key element of the fund’s investment strategy is the use of the Equality Fund’s GLI (Gender-Lens Investment) Criteria, a bespoke framework built on the fund’s Theory of Change. This framework helps ensure that investment decisions align with the fund’s mission to improve the lives of the target beneficiaries—women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals. Jacqueline and her team apply this framework to screen all potential investments, ensuring that they meet strict criteria before being included in the fund’s private markets allocation. Once finalized, the GLI Criteria will be shared publicly, empowering others on their own gender-lens investment journey and amplifying the movement for gender justice.
Before joining the Equality Fund, Jacqueline led the Inclusive Trade Investments Program at Export Development Canada, where she managed $200 million in equity growth capital. This program focused on supporting businesses led by diverse Canadians and promoting diversity in the investment landscape. With her deep expertise in financial strategy, portfolio management, and inclusive investment practices, Jacqueline is well-equipped to guide the Equality Fund’s innovative approach to gender-lens investing, ensuring that it not only delivers returns but also accelerates real, sustainable change for women and marginalized communities globally.
