Less Than 1 in 5 Employees in Alt Investment Industry Are Women: Preqin

Add the alternative assets industry to those that are getting a hard look at the gender imbalance in their workforces.

Alternatives data provider Preqin reports that women represent 18.8% of employees in the alternatives industry as a whole, with private equity having the lowest representation at 17.9%.

A 2015 study showed that only 11.7% of women held leadership positions in the private equity industry.

The rate at which women are represented in the alternatives industry varies widely by role, and consistently declines according to seniority, Preqin’s research shows.

Junior employees comprise the highest proportion of women in the alternatives industry, 29% of the workforce. However, in each asset class the representation of women falls as responsibilities increase, to 23% of midlevel staff and 10.5% of senior staff.

Here’s what the situation looks like, broken down by seniority and asset class:

Private equity

• Junior – 26%
• Midlevel – 22%
• Senior – 9%

Venture capital

• Junior – 36%
• Midlevel – 29%
• Senior – 11%

Hedge funds

• Junior – 26%
• Midlevel – 21%
• Senior – 11%

Real estate

• Junior – 36%
• Midlevel – 24%
• Senior – 10%

Infrastructure

• Junior – 33%
• Midlevel – 22%
• Senior – 10%

Natural resources

• Junior – 30%
• Midlevel – 22%
• Senior – 11%

Private debt

• Junior – 27%
• Midlevel – 22%
• Senior – 11%

In the new research, Preqin reported that women were best represented on investor relations/marketing teams, making up an average 45% across all asset classes and as high as 53% at venture capital firms.

In contrast, the rate of women on investment teams is much smaller, ranging from 18% at natural resources firms to 10% at hedge funds.

The proportion of women sitting on the boards of directors at alternative assets firms is even lower: 4.7% across the industry and down to 3.9% in real estate.