While the push continues for gender diversity, there are sectors which are falling behind. One of these is Private Equity where efforts to improve in this area are yielding mixed results.
Female representation in Europe has risen from 20 per cent in 2022 to 24 per cent and senior investment roles held by women who climbed from 10 per cent in 2022 to 14 per cent in 2024, according to a report from Level 20 which is a not-for-profit organisation – founded in Europe – that works to improve gender diversity in the private equity industry.
Set up in 2015, the organisation’s initiatives include mentoring, networking, research and advocacy. It inspires women to join and to succeed in the private equity industry.
However, the organisation warned that there was more “work to be done” with the picture becoming mixed when viewed in detail against decreases in some countries, seniority groups, AUM (Assets Under Management) bands and strategies. Progress in the junior level is slow, rising from 34pc to 35pc since 2022.
At that level, France and Sweden remain above 40pc: a watermark in 2022 for a market approaching parity. Seven countries are now above 30pc but this is lower than in 2022 when three countries were above 40pc and eight above 30pc.
“Some 35pc is a good pipeline but lower growth rates at this level means that parity is not yet in sight,” the report said. More than half of the 13 European countries in the research have seen a fall in female representation at a junior level.
Italy’s 16pc is the lowest rate women in mid-level investment roles while France’s 32pc is the highest recorded. France and Sweden both outperformed the all-sample average for all investment roles of 24pc (31pc and 28pc respectively).
The European gender diversity report 2024 comprised a study of more than 11,500 investment professionals in 700 firms across 13 countries. Since 2018 , Level 20 has used all-male investment teams as a bellwether for market improvement. In the UK there have been reductions over time, from 28pc in 2018 to 17pc in 2023.
In Europe more widely, the number of local all-male investment teams has dropped from 38 per cent in 2022 to 26pc in 2024. Across strategies, firms with a focus on venture capital lead private equity “by some margin”, although the only cohart with no progress since 2022 is in VC (at the junior level).
Chief executive of Level20, Gurpreet Manku, said: “What we heard is that when it comes venture capital, there are lots of factors that have naturally created a more diverse environment.
“Firms tend to be more recently established, at a time when workforce diversity is in focus, and employees tend to skew younger with smaller teams that tend to allow for a more flexible structure.” The data shows that at a firm level, larger groups are much less likely to have all-male investment teams with no women in any of their offices in the sample.
“There is a clear pattern of fewer instances of all-male teams as AUM band sizes increase, with a significant decrease in frequency once a firm is over £500m AUM, to as low as 3 per cent.
While on the matter of gender equality, it is noted that a new EY report has warned, the UK economy risks jeopardising a £7bn contribution from female-founded companies unless there is a stronger support for rising women entrepreneurs. The report identified over 240 business founded or led by women with revenues between £20m and £50m that could grow into so-called ‘super-scalers’ with the right resources and backing.
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