Key Takeaways
- • Private equity-backed boards lag public companies on gender diversity, according to New Private Markets' reporting.
- • A report cited by the publication finds 78% of PE-owned companies held for two years or more have at least one woman in a senior leadership role.
- • BCG's Ben Morley argues that PE firms often blame the gender gap on the composition of their own deal teams.
- • Limited partners and general partners are beginning to examine whether greater board diversity could add value to portfolio companies.
Summary
Private equity-backed boards continue to trail their public-company counterparts on gender diversity, according to New Private Markets. The publication cites a report finding that 78% of companies owned by private equity firms for two years or more have at least one woman in a senior role.
Private equity firms have often attributed the boardroom gender gap to the makeup of their own deal teams, which have historically been predominantly male. BCG's Ben Morley challenges that explanation, noting that limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs) are now using diversity data to ask whether broader board representation could add value to portfolio companies. That shift in investor scrutiny reflects growing institutional interest in board composition as a governance and performance consideration rather than solely a reputational one.
The full article is available to registered users of New Private Markets, and the publication's summary offers limited detail beyond the findings above.
Private equity firms have often attributed the boardroom gender gap to the makeup of their own deal teams, which have historically been predominantly male. BCG's Ben Morley challenges that explanation, noting that limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs) are now using diversity data to ask whether broader board representation could add value to portfolio companies. That shift in investor scrutiny reflects growing institutional interest in board composition as a governance and performance consideration rather than solely a reputational one.
The full article is available to registered users of New Private Markets, and the publication's summary offers limited detail beyond the findings above.
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