In 31% of Spain’s private equity houses, the chief officer is a woman

The number of women in the governance and management of the private equity industry in Spain still lags well behind other sectors of the economy in which a considerable increase in women in positions of responsibility has been observed in recent years. This is highlighted in the report “El papel de la mujer en el sector del capital privado en España” (The role of women in the private equity industry in Spain) presented this morning, which found that in 31% of private equity houses in Spain, the chief officer is a woman, and that only 22% of these entities have any women on their boards and management committees.

This study produced by the Esade Corporate Governance Center in conjunction with Boyden, ASCRI and ATREVIA, provided other very important figures, such as the fact that in 33% of the private equity houses taking part in the survey, women account for between 16 and 35% of their committees and boards, whilst in just 16%, women are a majority in their governance and management bodies. A comparison of figures in private equity houses with those of venture capital firms reveals a significant difference, i.e., in only 8% of private equity houses do women occupy at least half of leadership positions, a percentage rising to 26% amongst venture capital firms. In contrast, 35% of private equity houses have no women on their management committees or boards, compared to 9% of venture capital firms.

As regards the relationship between the volume of funds managed and the numbers of women in positions of responsibility, the figures reveal that the group of fund management firms with between 16 and 35% women has an average size of €1.5 billion and is by far the biggest group. This group is followed by the category of fund management firms with 36 to 50% of women in leadership positions, whose average volume of managed funds is some €910 million. On the other hand, the funds with no women in key positions manage a considerably lower volume of €460 million.

Despite these figures, the fact is that the commitment to gender diversity and incorporating women into leadership positions demonstrated by the fund management firms taking part in the study is a crucial matter nowadays, as the numbers reveal. For 48% of the fund management firms, this issue is a priority and, furthermore, one on which they are working hard. However, and at the same time, it is noteworthy that for 38% of the fund management firms surveyed, although diversity may be important, it is not as important as other areas of management.

Main obstacles to greater diversity

The obstacles pointed out by the fund management firms who took part in this academic research include: the lack of women with the necessary profile or the sector’s little appeal to them, one of the main reasons being its demands and the difficulties of striking a work-life balance. In general, if 41% have not implemented scouting to improve diversity and 28% think they have not found the required profiles, it is obvious that a considerable number of respondents have problems identifying the right talent to advance in terms of diversity.

Of the 15 fund management firms surveyed (i.e., 31% as mentioned at the beginning) with a woman as chief officer, i.e., with functions such as general director, managing partner or the like, 13 are venture capital firms and only 2 are private equity houses.

As for the diversity of the boards of directors in the firms taking part, 35% of the 48 firms that took part in the survey believe that some of their investees should move faster, but 21% felt that their investees comply with or come close to the recommendations about gender balance on boards. It is noteworthy that 21% of these 48 fund management firms have no idea about the gender diversity in the companies they invest in and up to 23% say that although the companies are already moving in this direction, there is still a long way to go.

This report based on a sample of 50 responses to a questionnaire and 12 interviews with heads of fund management firms also analyses and measures other important elements including particularly their approach to gender diversity and the necessary steps to increase the number of women in management bodies.

The main findings of the survey are diversity adds value at all levels of an organization; the sector is beginning to become aware of the need to speed up gender diversity in response to the pressure and demand of its own investors and society in general; more action is needed by fund management firms; and ESG criteria must be enforced more robustly in the investment processes of these entities.