More than half of PE and VC firms have all-white investment teams
Private equity and VC firms are making great strides with gender diversity but the industry is still significantly lagging on ethnic minority representation, according to new research.
Analysis by the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA) and Level 20 reveals all male investment teams have declined from 28 per cent in 2018 to 12 per cent.
But analysis combining gender and ethnicity reveals that women from ethnically diverse backgrounds represent just nine per cent of the report’s sample.
In senior roles just three per cent of employees are women from ethnically diverse backgrounds, across both investment and non-investment roles. Black women account for less than one per cent of senior roles while only 1.6 per cent are Asian.
More than half of the 69 firms who provided data on ethnic diversity have white-only investment teams. Although there is better representation in non-investment roles it still remains fairly low, making up just a quarter of the roles.
“It is obvious that when it comes to ethnicity, further work is needed. The first step firms can take is to collect and review their data with the information in this report,” Gurpreet Manku, deputy director general of the BVCA said.
“It’s imperative that the industry continues to widen access to women and people of all backgrounds, across all levels of seniority. This is not only fair and equal but makes sound business sense too. Increased diversity and inclusion means better decision making and, ultimately, more successful companies.”
The number of women working in investment roles has improved across all levels in small, mid and mega-sized funds.
One in 10 senior executives are women, which grows to 20 and 33 per cent for mid and junior levels respectively. Additionally the number of senior women working in non-investment roles has grown to 30 per cent.
“While the shift forward is encouraging and the number of women working at all levels has increased, there is still much more progress to make,” Pam Jackson, chief executive of Level 20 said. “We will continue to support firms to take the most effective actions to progress and retain diverse talent at all levels, particularly women working in senior investment roles.”