Large Cap US Private Equity Continues to Lack Diversity

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of female deal partners did not increase at the 18 biggest private equity (PE) firms in the United States. This means that in 2023, while there are 404 deal partners, only 28 (7%) are women. Five firms have zero female deal partners: Clearlake Capital Group, Genstar Capital, Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake, and Warburg Pincus. Four of these firms also had no female deal partners in 2022.

Deal partners are individuals within a PE firm who control the decision-making, direction, and future of the funds. With men holding 92% of deal partner roles, it is clear that there is an absence of gender equity in some of the highest, and most powerful investing jobs.

Below is the research conducted by the Washington Council for Economic and Financial Education (WACEFE) between November 2022 and October 2023. The firms analyzed by WACEFE were: Advent, Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, Carlyle Group, CD&R, Clearlake, Francisco, Genstar, Hellman & Friedman, Insight, KKR, Silver Lake, TA Associates, The Blackstone Group, Thoma Bravo, TPG, Vista Equity Partners, and Warburg Pincus - all PE firms with funds greater than $10 billion.

Public pension funds are funding PE firms at record levels while simultaneously committing to environmental, social, governance (ESG), and diversity goals. In order to achieve gender equity in the workforce, it is critical that the decisions coming from the top positions have perspectives that represent the makeup of our society. Therefore, it is past time to look at, and track, gender diversity within PE firms, especially within roles of influence and power.