Level 20

Level 20 is a not for profit organisation, set up in 2015, to inspire more women to join and to succeed in the private equity industry.

Fewer women than men enter private equity and only a small proportion progress to take on leadership roles. We believe that increased participation by women, especially in leadership positions, will lead to improved and sustained investment performance. Many studies have shown a correlation between gender diversity in senior teams and higher returns on equity in quoted companies. We see no reason why private equity should be different. In the study we undertook with the BVCA in 2018 only 6% of senior investment roles in GP firms were held by women.

Our aim is to increase the number of women in the industry and we have set the target of 20% of senior roles to be held by women.

We are delighted to have won financial support from over 55 private equity firms, who are all making efforts to improve the gender representation in their organisations.

Level 20 encourages private equity firms to:

• Demonstrate a commitment from the top of the organisation to the objective of having
  more women in senior roles across all positions in the firm.
• Recruit suitably qualified women at all levels and in all roles across their firms.
• Establish goals and/or initiatives to increase retention of women across all roles.
• Implement policies that ensure the professional development and success of all employees
  and employ metrics to measure success.
• Establish processes that support the development of all employees with regard to
  promotion, compensation and career development.
• Promote a culture that encourages and supports the success of women.

Find out more