Women in private equity: accelerating the movement

When I started out, it wasn’t unusual for me to attend meetings where I was the only woman among 30 men. Women in infrastructure funds, banks or industry players in the sector were few and far between. There was an implicit belief that these professions were male domains – a cultural bias that even women themselves had bought into. Those who excelled academically tended to pursue business or humanities studies rather than engineering, industry or finance careers. Compounding this fact, private equity is an intense and time-consuming job, representing a career choice that women in previous generations simply did not allow themselves to make. 

Culture war

How do we fight the received wisdom and support a shift that is seeing women grow their place in our industry? We need to work together to break with the old ways of thinking and free women from feelings of guilt. That means reaching out to them earlier in their school and university careers to talk about the importance of finance and the economy. We need to tell them that going down this road is not something to be ashamed of – quite the opposite!

The first professional barriers often have a lot to do with self-confidence. They prevent women from plucking up the courage to express themselves and stop them from leaning into conversations. This kind of self-censorship can easily be overcome with a little bit of support. Personally, I was lucky enough to be placed under the wing of a manager who constantly encouraged me to push beyond my limits.

At the same time, it is critical to raise more awareness about the things that make our industry great. Private equity has all the ingredients to satisfy the expectations of anyone with a sense of natural curiosity. The diversity of underlying investments means tackling a wide variety of assignments – each with tangible, real-world impact. You are continually building new skills, learning new languages, travelling and more. When I finished my statistical and actuarial studies, I was ecstatic to put my theoretical knowledge to work on infrastructure projects that were both very practical and essential for people, such as airports or power grids. The impact we have on the economy and on the everyday lives of thousands, even millions, of people carries a great deal of responsibility, especially at Ardian, a leading asset manager. In other words, because we can do a lot, we have a serious responsibility to meet the challenges of our century in terms of driving economic growth and the low-carbon transition.

Parity and diversity as differentiating and strategic strengths

My ability to progress regularly over the course of my career is in part because I belong to a company that values parity and diversity of all kinds – backgrounds, social environments, views – as a strategic strength, a prized asset that informs discussions and improves the quality of decision-making. Ardian’s leadership by Dominique Senequier, one of the most influential figures in private equity globally, and a woman with an outstanding academic and professional track record, has made the company a pioneer in diversity.

This is paying off, as the numbers show: women make up 35% of the Operations Commitee, 44% of the Ardian France management board and 25% of women in investment teams globally. Among hires in the latest cohort, women represent 41%.

The work done by the Ardian Women’s Club, which was set up to help women get to know each other within the company, is another strength.

The idea behind the club is to foster more personal connections that will enhance professional dealings and communication via events such as symposiums, cultural and sporting gatherings, and debates.

This includes offering a leading parental policy and training on microaggressions – a key issue, particularly in management practices.. We also strive to reach women early in their academic journey, encouraging them to pursue scientific disciplines and to consider careers in finance with confidence. As part of this push, Ardian is participating in the ESCP Women in Finance Chair, which studies women’s careers in finance.

Each of these actions is part of a broader support strategy, particularly aimed at managers, to better understand and embrace diversity – especially gender diversity.

And we focus on supporting young professionals through mentoring programs, either at Ardian or through our partner associations, such as Infravenir and Level 20.

Finally, we are working to instill the same mindset in the management teams of our portfolio companies, striving to increase diversity at the leadership level.

All of these initiatives are contributing to a groundswell movement that is already bearing fruit. Now, each of us, at our own level, needs to play their part in accelerating the change.