This document outlines language and terminology that is commonly used to frame conversations about gender lens investing. The purpose of laying out these frames is to make visible how people routinely enter conversations about gender lens investing, the trade-offs and risks associated with choosing one frame over the other and where there is overlap.

For each frame, we give a standard definition of the terms used, provide examples, identify the types of actors that often gravitate to it and examine common critiques. We then present a series of reframes— new ways of seeing dominant narratives around impact and gender that present new possibilities for transformative impact.

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