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Opalesque Industry Update - In a new report published by Preqin, the global leader in alternative assets data, tools, and insights, the Women in Alternatives 2022 report shows that although the alternatives industry has not seen a major drop in the proportion of female employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is more work to be done to rectify the marked gender imbalance, especially in senior positions. Gender balance has improved, albeit slowly, across the alternative assets industry as a whole. According to Deloitte, one woman in the C-suite leads to three promotions of women into senior management roles1; simply put, the lack of women in leadership positions can negatively affect the prosperity of women in the industry as a whole. Preqin data shows that an eighth (12.9%) of senior positions in the alternatives industry are held by women. As of January 2022, 20.9% of the alternative assets workforce is female - and when looking at investors alone this rises to 24.2% (up from 20.3% and 24.0% respectively a year earlier). When looking at the female representation in different asset classes, regionally, European private debt fund managers employ the most women - up from 21.6% in 2021 to 22.8% this year. Rest of World real estate fund managers have the lowest proportion of women on staff - down from 17.3% in 2021 to 15.1% in 2022. In terms of asset classes, infrastructure leads the way with 28.6% female workforce, compared with 24.1% globally; and private equity trails the pack, employing 23.6% women in North America and 21.9% globally. As of February 2022, just one-fifth (20.5%) of total private equity fund manager employees were women, the Preqin report shows. While that proportion has increased for the past three years in North America, Europe, and Asia - although by less than one percentage point annually - Rest of World recorded a decline from 18.9% in 2020 to 18.3% in 2021. At senior levels, there are even fewer women; only 9% of CEOs and 8.2% of board members are female. Women Underrepresented in Leadership Roles Among Private Markets Women continue to be underrepresented throughout the workforce in financial services. Deloitte estimates that 24% of senior roles were held by women across financial services in 2021. In alternative assets, the figures are worse still, with Preqin data showing only 12.9% of senior positions held by women. At fund manager level, the proportion of women in the workforce ranges from 18.9% at real estate firms to 21.1% at venture capital, private debt, and natural resources firms. The proportion of women in senior positions ranges from 13%, in venture capital, to just 9.8% in real estate. Interestingly, real estate boasts the highest proportion of female employees at junior level (36.3%), making the drop between junior and senior level even more pronounced. Investors have better female representation throughout the workforce, with 34.4% of junior positions, 26.1% of mid-level positions and 16.7% of senior roles filled by women. Venture Capital Pulls Ahead Women have been more successful at launching and managing venture capital funds than in any other alternative asset class. The number of female-owned funds holding their first close jumped from 32 in 2013 to 158 in 2022, an increase of almost 400% in a decade, which is considerably faster than in private equity (where the increase was 32.1%), and real estate (133.3%) - the only other asset classes where the number of first closes for 2022 is in double digits. Furthermore, female-founded start-ups backed by venture capital funds raised an average $935,000 (compared to men-founded ones: $2.1mn) and generated $730,000 in revenue (men: $660,000). A study by Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge2, a US-based network of business accelerators, looked at 350 companies and found that start-ups with at least one female founder raised less money than those with male founders, but generated more revenue over a five-year period. The same study found that, expressed in revenue per dollar invested, female-founded start-ups backed by venture capital outperformed their male-founded counterparts by a considerable margin, returning 78 cents per dollar against 31cents for companies with male founders. Jaclyn Bouchard, EVP, Head of ESG Solutions and Corporate Responsibility, at Preqin, says: "Until women are better represented at the most senior level in the alternatives industry, progress will be slow. However, coupled with actions such as casting a broader net when recruiting women in junior positions, developing metrics to track progress, and adding gender diversity metrics to due diligence proceedings - real change can be achieved. As a woman in an executive position at Preqin, I also know the importance of mentoring others and the inspiration that can come from just being where I am - with a seat at the table of senior company leaders." Key Women in Alternative Assets 2022 Facts*:
Private Equity:
Venture Capital:
Private Debt
Hedge Funds
Real Estate
Infrastructure
Natural Resources *N.B. all rankings are of the top 10 locations by aggregate capital raised in the past 10 years globally: China, Canada, Hong Kong SAR - China, France, United States, United Kingdom, India, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. For Infrastructure, South Korea is in the top ten by aggregate capital raised, but as there is no data on their proportion of female employees the next country, Switzerland, has been added in its place. The exception to this rule is hedge funds which is calculated by AUM.
Press release
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Industry Updates
Women hold just 12.9% of senior positions in alternative investments industry
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
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