Number of senior women in UK PE firms grows

The was a 7 percent increase in the number of women taking on senior roles at UK private equity firms between 2014 and 2015, according to figures compiled for the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s regulator.

Women accounted for one in eight partners in 2015, up from one in 10 a year earlier, data gathered by DHR International on behalf of the FCA show. In real terms, the number increased from 378 to 405.

There has been an increase in focus on gender diversity within both the private equity industry and wider financial services over the past year.

Level 20, established in 2015, is working with leaders of the European private equity industry to attract and retain more women across the sector. Its goal is to ensure women account for 20 percent of senior professionals in the region’s industry by 2020, compared to 5 percent in 2015.

The FCA has also set its own diversity targets in recent months. By 2020 it expects 45 percent of its senior leadership team to be women, increasing to 50 percent by 2025. It aims to increase the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic people on the team to 13 percent by 2025.

“Encouraging diverse attitudes and opinions in our daily work makes us a stronger and more effective regulator,” FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey said in a statement.

The UK government recently launched the Women in Finance Charter, designed to improve equality in the financial sector.

To date it has been signed by more than 70 of the world’s largest investment, insurance and banking firms, including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and BlackRock.