Large cap US private equity is even less diverse than you think it is

Deal partners in the 18 biggest private equity (PE) firms in the United States total 373; just 26 (7%) of these deal partners are women. Five of the 18 firms have zero women as deal partners.

These are the findings of research conducted by the Washington Council for Economic and Financial Education (WACEFE) between November 2021 and November 2022. 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.

Deal partners are those within a PE firms who control the decision-making, direction, and future of the fund. The research finds that women have been placed within senior staff roles; however, with men holding 93% of deal partner roles, it is clear that there is an absence of diversity in the highest and most powerful investing jobs. This reality is even more striking when we look at the five firms with no female deal partners. These five firms account for 13% of total PE assets under management (AUM). Public pension funds are funding PE firms at record levels while at the same time committing to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity. It is time to look at - and track - gender diversity within PE firms, especially within roles of influence and power.

Professionals in Deal Roles by Gender

Deal Partner Roles Held by Men vs Women

The bar graph shown below highlights the number of women and men in deal partner roles from the top 18 private equity firms by AUM in the United States. Out of these 18 firms, 5 currently have 0 women in deal roles.

Firm Name	Professional's Name	Title	Location
Advent International	Lauren Young	Managing Director	New York
Advent International	Tricia Glynn	Managing Director	Boston
Apollo Global Management	Christine Hommes	Partner	New York
Apollo Global Management	Olivia Wassenaar	Partner	New York
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice	Sarah Kim	Partner	New York
Francisco Partners	Christine Wang	Deal Partner	San Francisco
Francisco Partners	Ashley Evans	Deal Partner	San Francisco
Insight Partners	Anika Agarwal	Managing Director	New York
Insight Partners	Rachel Geller	Managing Director	New York
Insight Partners	Rebecca Liu-Doyle	Managing Director	New York
KKR	Nancy Ford	Partner, Private Equity	Menlo Park
Silver Lake	Yingqi Li	Managing Director	Menlo Park
TA Associates	Jennifer Mulloy	Managing Director	Menlo Park
The Blackstone Group	Ann Chung	Managing Director - Blackstone Growth	New York
The Blackstone Group	Anushka Sunder	Senior Managing Director	New York
The Blackstone Group	Kelly Wannop	Managing Director	New York
The Carlyle Group	Anita Balaji	Managing Director	New York
The Carlyle Group	Anna Tre	Managing Director and Partner	Washington, DC
The Carlyle Group	Candice Szu	Managing Director	New York
The Carlyle Group	Sandra Horbach	Co-Head US Buvout and Growth	New York
The Carlyle Group	Yue Bonnet	Managing Director	New York
Thoma Bravo	Tara Gadgil	Partner	Miami
TPG	Jacqui Hawwa	Business Unit Partner	San Francisco
TPG	Katherine Wood	Partner	San Francisco
Vista Equity Partners	Rachel Arnold	Senior Managing Director	Austin
Vista Equity Partners	Rene Yang Stewart	Senior Managing Director	Austin

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Make A Difference Now

The gender inequity research shown above is only one of the many problems we face in the private equity industry. If you would like to stay updated on our research or learn more about how you can get involved, make sure to sign up for our newsletter, follow us on social media, or reach out to our team directly through email.

2/27/2023