• Home
  •  
    Regions
    • Europe
    • UK & Ireland
    • DACH
    • Nordic
    • France
    • Southern Europe
    • Benelux
    • CEE
    • Asia
  •  
    Deals
    • Buyouts
    • Venture
    • Exits
    • Refinancings
    • Build-up
    • Turnaround
    • Secondaries
    • Advanced deal search
  •  
    Funds
    • Buyout
    • Venture
    • Mezzanine
    • Debt
    • Funds-of-funds
    • Secondaries
    • Fundraising pipelines
    • Advanced funds search
  •  
    GPs & LPs
    • GP profiles
    • LP profiles
    • GP news
    • LP news
    • Sponsors search
    • LPs search
  •  
    Secondaries
    • Deals
    • Funds
    • News
    • Analysis
  •  
    People
    • People moves
    • Analysis
    • In Profile
    • Q&A
    • Videos
    • Comment
  •  
    Analysis
    • In Profile
    • Fundraising
    • Q&A
    • Comment
    • Videos
    • Podcast
    • Reports
    • Data Snapshots
  •  
    Unquote Data
    • Deals search
    • Exits search
    • Funds search
    • Sponsors search
    • Advisers search
    • LPs search
    • League tables
    • Reports
  • Sign in
  • Sign in
    • You are currently accessing unquote.com via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0)203 741 1137

      Email: Georgina.Lawson@acuris.com

      • Sign in
     
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
  • Free Trial
  • Subscribe
Unquote
Unquote
  • Home
  • Regions
  • Deals
  • Funds
  • GPs & LPs
  • Secondaries
  • People
  • Analysis
  • Unquote Data
      • Deals search
      • Exits search
      • Funds search
      • Sponsors search
      • Advisers search
      • LPs search
      • League tables
      • Reports
  • You are currently accessing unquote.com via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0)203 741 1137

    Email: Georgina.Lawson@acuris.com

    • Sign in
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
UNQUOTE
  • Southern Europe

Private equity – A man's world?

Private equity – A man's world?
  • Susannah Birkwood
  • 20 October 2011
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
  • Send to  

The French venture capital association has just established a body to address gender inequality in private equity. But why do so few women still work in the industry? Susannah Birkwood finds out

You only need to attend a handful of conferences to see that women are in short supply in private equity. Indeed, the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association's CFO-COO congress in June stood out for featuring an all-female panel. Most of the speakers though, such Pantheon's Amanda McCrystal and Stine Foss of Northzone Ventures, were in line with the industry's trend for women to cluster in the LP and venture spaces. Because while 9.1% of European senior PE executives are women, many of these avoid the buyout arena, with females accounting for just 6% of roles in this field globally.

Last month, AFIC, the French private equity trade body, launched AFIC avec Elle, a think-tank which aims to increase the number of women in fund management positions. No doubt it will look favourably on the Paris-based Women Equity Partners, which mainly invests in female-led growth companies, and backed the MBO of Lefebvre Software this week. Another initiative which could have an impact on women in PE and other areas of finance is the UK's 30% club. This organisation calls for 30% of FTSE 100 boards to be made up of women by 2015, something which could easily be emulated by PE-backed companies.

According to Anne Glover, CEO of Amadeus Capital Partners, the issue is not one of prejudice, but of women themselves choosing not to enter the industry. "Working in an aggressive deal-heavy environment with very long working hours and deals made via a lot of networking is just not conducive to a balanced life," she says. Among those that did choose private equity, several have triumphed at both the GP and fund-of-fund level (HarbourVest's Kathleen Bacon and Bramdean "superwoman" Nicola Horlick spring to mind), so it appears that success is there for the taking. Glover agrees: "If you want to be aggressive and ambitious, success is possible, but you have to want it and not everyone does." Sian Lloyd Jones, CEO of Finance Wales, concurs that the number of female applicants for jobs is low: "Recently we advertised for a portfolio director and had one female applicant out of 45. The interest we get for junior positions isn't much better." Unlike Glover though, Lloyd Jones believes that a subtle barrier exists which may be deterring women. "It's still too easy to assume that the man is the lead individual on a deal and that the woman's just there to take the notes or make the tea and coffee."

I don't know how she does it
If a lack of applicants is the main problem, it must be assumed that the buyout sphere commands the least applicants of all. The reason is all down to the unpredictability of the GP lifestyle, or so believes Carol Kennedy, a senior partner at Pantheon Ventures. "As a GP you often have to travel at the drop of a hat, especially if a deal is cross-border," she says. "Rather like in investment banking, when you're working on the deal side you don't know what you'll be doing from one week to the next." Women with partners or children thus often opt for LP roles because it gives them more ability to plan their work (and consequently their personal life) in advance, even though they may have to travel a lot.

Glover claims she chose the venture world over private equity on similar grounds. "Venture involves doing deals, but you're predicting the future and not trying to win a deal against competitors in a sort-of feeding frenzy," she points out. Being the head of a venture firm does require some sacrifices though; she doesn't have children and admits to devoting her career to the asset class. Could a woman have a family and do what Glover does? "Only if you're incredibly disciplined."

Another way for a woman to have greater control over her time is to establish her own fund manager. Such a move has the added benefits of side-stepping the fight to succeed in a male-dominated environment and potentially creating opportunities for other women. A further option for women is to lead their firm in spinning out, as Europe's "private equity queen" Dominique Senequier is currently doing with Axa Private Equity. According to Lloyd Jones, the right reasons for a spin-out are to establish a fund manager "which preaches freedom of thought and freedom of operation" if this doesn't exist under current ownership. Prominent founders include Karine Hirn of East Capital and Marleen Groen of Greenpark Capital, as well as Glover, who co-founded Amadeus in 1997. "I was a business angel originally, so by scaling up and raising a fund I could be more effective and have more impact," she recalls. "There's no way I would be able to do what I've been able to do without setting up my own firm."

Any barriers to entry into private equity could diminish over time as the assets women bring become more widely recognised. Though unquote's interviewees were reluctant to see themselves as "women in business", viewing themselves as professionals first and foremost, each was adamant that females bring a number of qualities not always displayed by their male counterparts. Women fund managers have superior judgment about people, they feel, the ability to communicate well and a willingness to work harder - "because they have to get to where they are". Nevertheless, according to Glover, the number of women dealmakers is unlikely to increase over time. "While HR departments will introduce more flexible working policies, they won't make a difference. The reason women won't choose PE in the future is for the same reason they don't choose it now - it's not a very attractive lifestyle."

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Southern Europe
  • UK / Ireland
  • CEE
  • Nordics
  • DACH
  • France
  • Benelux
  • Pantheon Ventures
  • Finance Wales

More on Southern Europe

PE purchases stall in Italy as buyers lose faith – PE Forum Italy
PE purchases stall in Italy as buyers lose faith – PE Forum Italy

PE players are hoping that valuation expectations will align in 2H 2023, easing dealmaking backlog

  • Southern Europe
  • 12 July 2023
Fondo Agroalimentare Italiano invests in Urbis Food
Fondo Agroalimentare Italiano invests in Urbis Food

Deal marks the fund’s full deployment with more than EUR 50m invested across nine transactions

  • Southern Europe
  • 13 June 2023
Intesa Sanpaolo investment banking head exits for BNP Paribas
Intesa Sanpaolo investment banking head exits for BNP Paribas

Marco Lattuada previously oversaw activities including M&A and debt capital markets at the Italian firm

  • Southern Europe
  • 15 December 2022
William Blair launches Madrid office, adds investment banking practice in Zurich
William Blair launches Madrid office, adds investment banking practice in Zurich

Álvaro Hernández to lead new Spanish branch; healthcare will be first focus of Swiss expansion

  • Southern Europe
  • 12 December 2022

Latest News

Partners Group to release IMs for Civica sale in mid-September
  • Exits
Stonehage Fleming raises USD 130m for largest fund to date, eyes 2024 programme

Sponsor acquired the public software group in July 2017 via the same-year vintage Partners Group Global Value 2017

  • 04 September 2023
BHM Group builds on PE strategy, eyes European medtech and renewable energy acquisitions
  • Investments
Stonehage Fleming raises USD 130m for largest fund to date, eyes 2024 programme

Czech Republic-headquartered family office is targeting DACH and CEE region deals

  • 01 September 2023
Redalpine expands leadership team amid CHF 1bn-plus fundraise
  • Venture
Stonehage Fleming raises USD 130m for largest fund to date, eyes 2024 programme

Ex-Rocket Internet leader Bettina Curtze joins Swiss VC firm as partner and CFO

  • 31 August 2023
Change Ventures aims to hold final close for EUR 20m third fund by mid-2024
  • Funds
Stonehage Fleming raises USD 130m for largest fund to date, eyes 2024 programme

Estonia-registered VC could bolster LP base with fresh capital from funds-of-funds or pension funds

  • 31 August 2023
Back to Top
  • About Unquote
  • Advertise
  • Contacts
  • About Acuris
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Group Disclaimer
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

© Merger Market

© Mergermarket Limited, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE - Company registration number 03879547

Digital publisher of the year 2010 & 2013

Digital publisher of the year 2010 & 2013