French private equity remains male-oriented affair

Greg Gille
27 November 2012

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Although diversity has taken a timid step forward overall, investment teams in French private equity houses remain predominantly male, according to recent research by Deloitte and trade body AFIC.

On the face of it, french private equity teams may seem fairly diverse by financial sector standards: 40% of the overall staff in GPs surveyed by Deloitte are women, a figure that rose by a mere two points in 2011 compared with 2010.

Looking at job titles tells a very different story though. Women remain a rare sight in investment teams at 16.5%, down by a point compared to 2010 figures. This stands in stark contrast to support teams, where they make up 70% of staff.

The study also highlights that women working in French private equity still get promoted less than their male colleagues. Between 2010 and 2011, 19% of male analysts were promoted to investment directors – compared with 13% for women. The road to partnership is even harder: only 3% of female investment directors were promoted to partners, against 9% of their male equivalents.

On a positive note, recruitments were more favourable to women in 2011: 19% of overall staff were new female hires, compared to 15% in 2010 – though not enough to reverse the long-term trend, the study notes.

While 46% of the 92 GPs surveyed stated they were aiming for more diverse teams, 85% are not taking specific actions to promote this. Around three quarters are also not actively looking at introducing more women in executive boards at portfolio company level.