Women are significantly underrepresented in the private equity industry, even more so than in comparable graduate-level professional fields. To better understand this complex gender gap, a group of researchers has begun to source comprehensive data to create a new database of investment professionals working in the private equity industry.
The researchers, which include Michael Ewens, the David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance and co-director of the Private Equity Program at Columbia Business School, and Emmanuel A. Yimfor, assistant professor of business in the Finance Division at CBS, will use the data to document the differences in career paths between male and female private equity professionals.
Phase 1 of the study, due for completion this fall, creates an annually updated dashboard highlighting industry progress on advancing gender equity in the industry. Paired with a written report analyzing the data, it will also allow firms the ability to compare progress on gender diversity with other firms and across geographies. So far, the study has found that women occupy just 13 percent of senior roles in private equity and 30 percent of junior roles.
Phase 2, which is set to begin later this year, will trace the step-by-step career trajectories of men and women in the private equity space, as well as promotion rates, industry exit rates, and more.
The database will be maintained by the Private Equity Program at Columbia and produce semiannual reports on both representation and career trajectories of men and women in the industry.
