Like daughter, like father: Female socialization and green equity investment

Are parents' decisions to invest in green equity funds influenced by their daughters? According to the recent literature on female socialization, parenting a daughter is expected to have a positive impact on parents' investment in green equity funds. Based on an original survey among 2288 French investors, we validate the female socialization in a retail investment context. Raising a daughter increases the likelihood of investing in green equity funds by about 3.87 % on average. Consistent with the female socialization hypothesis, this effect only stands for male parent investors, when daughters are still in the household and is not significant for separated fathers. Moreover, the amount invested is also significantly influenced by being a parent of a daughter. Our results support the need to better consider the influence of family members in investment in household finance decision-making and the side effects of education on environmental issues. •Having a daughter increases likelihood of investing in green funds by 3.87 %.•Effect only significant for male investors with daughters still in the household.•Daughters influence both the decision to invest and the amount invested in green funds.•Findings support considering family influence in household financial decisions.