The smart money is on inclusion

We often measure gender inequality in pay gaps and promotions, but the design of our cities reveals a much deeper, more concrete truth. 

As part of Bentley System's Infrastructure Policy Advancement team, my work involves a global collaboration with stakeholders across finance, government, and industry to harness the power of digital transformation to improve infrastructure performance. With infrastructure fundraising hitting record levels in 2025, investors around the world are looking to deploy capital into projects that deliver strong returns and stronger outcomes. This year, I want to argue that governments and investors should leverage infrastructure technologies to ensure those projects uplift women - and shape a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future for us all.  

It's a theme that resonates deeply with me. As infrastructure professionals, the decisions we make have the power to enable or disable our users. For example, a public transport network designed primarily to optimise efficiencies during rush hour, may not work for caregivers, children and the elderly. I still remember the shock of first experience navigating London as a new parent. Train stations I had rushed through with ease as a commuter became inaccessible with a pram. Suddenly, my access to the transport network shrank to stations with lifts or hinged on the kindness of strangers to help with stairs.

Designing inclusive infrastructure is more than just making spaces accessible to all. It recognises that an investment in infrastructure delivers more than just a physical asset. Designed equitably, infrastructure connects people with opportunities, their community and the economy. This is evident with the $34 billion (£18.9 billion) Crossrail project in London. Since the Elizabeth Line opened in 2022 it has led to a 11% increase in job accessibility between Abbey Wood and Canary Wharf and contributed an estimated $76 billion (£42 billion) boost to UK economy. Designed inequitably, infrastructure can be underutilised – leading to lost revenues, costly retrofits and inequality. For instance, the Queensland Government was faced with an AUS $335.7 million bill to bring its New Generation Rollingstock up to code after accessibility code compliance issues were identified on the new fleet.  

By understanding and acknowledging existing inequities, barriers and opportunities, we can take active steps to address them through effective policy and design. Investors and designers are turning to infrastructure technologies to support them to do this. Technologies like digital twins – dynamic, data-rich digital models of physical assets that bring projects to life – mean we can shift from designing for communities – to designing with them. A great example of this is the Homai Rail Station in Auckland, New Zealand. Faced with the challenge of replacing a dangerous pedestrian level-crossing, engineers from Beca used digital innovation to ensure the upgraded station served its wider community. They created a 3D digital model of the proposed design, which was then 3D printed with braille to allow students at a nearby blind and low-vision school to provide tactile feedback. Using virtual reality, the design team could experience the new overpass from a 'wheelchair view,' leading to crucial safety changes at a ramp exit. This approach holds immense potential. Imagine applying the same logic: a 'stroller view' to test ramp gradients, or a simulation of a journey home at night to optimise lighting and security camera placement – addressing safety and access concerns that can deter women from using public transport.

However, building this inclusive future at scale runs into a significant hurdle: the well-documented global infrastructure investment gap. While public budgets are stretched – the world is not short of capital. Infrastructure is the fastest-growing alternative asset class – and meeting net zero and development ambitions requires significant investment into the sector. Yet, money isn't flowing into sustainable infrastructure projects at the required rate, with investors citing a limited pipeline of 'investment-grade' opportunities. This is a challenge the technology sector and the infrastructure finance sector can work together to address. A key part of this is developing robust infrastructure taxonomies, frameworks and standards – ensuring a shared understanding of what qualifies as sustainable and resilient. Paired with powerful digital technologies, like digital twins, this can radically improve investment decision-making. Ensuring capital is more quickly deployed where it is needed most. A digital twin can model a project's performance over its entire lifecycle, verifying its sustainability claims, predicting its resilience to climate impacts, and providing investors with the transparent, verifiable data they need to commit capital with confidence.

On this International Women's Day, let's commit to building a world where infrastructure is an engine of equity. As we deploy unprecedented levels of capital into global infrastructure, we must elevate our ambitions beyond just getting projects funded. Investors should use their leverage to demand and foster a market for "shovel-worthy" projects that are designed to deliver enduring value to communities they serve. By developing and adopting clear 'digital roadmaps' that detail the types of technologies and data standards that make projects bankable and investable, the finance and insurance industries can send a strong signal that resilience, sustainable, and inclusive assets are no longer a 'nice to have,' but a strategic imperative.