Who Dares to Care? (In the World of Finance)

This study argues that gendered barriers to care are limiting the progress of socially responsible investment (SRI). Anchored within the world of finance – an industry predicated on mathematical theorizing, neoclassical economic thought, and omission of relational values – the inclusion of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, a commonly used term for nonfinancial information in SRI, in investment decision making confronts several barriers. One such barrier concerns care: who cares for what, and where. In an environment where an atomistic-individualistic ontology dominates, and a relational-values ontology is omitted, the study investigates the possibilities for ESG to have a wider uptake. It considers the changes required to align the inherently relational aspect of care within a culture of economic reasoning reliant on the exclusion of care. It concludes with suggestions for how a relational caring perspective can be incorporated to accommodate and encourage SRI in the world of financial management.