Why mentoring matters for women in PE

NextWave Private Equity

Pam Jackson, CEO of Level20, joins Winna Brown to reveal how mentorship programs can help women build long-term careers in PE.

According to a report that EY teams recently published on diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI), the private equity industry's ability to meet stakeholder demands, access capital, win deals and compete for talent is increasingly contingent on progress against DEI metrics. Talent management has become the number two strategic priority across PE firms of all sizes, second only to asset growth. DEI initiatives are now proliferating in private equity as the industry begins to address how its culture has historically impeded diversity.

Level20 is a non-profit organization based in the UK that is dedicated to improving gender diversity in the European PE industry and specifically in senior leadership roles at PE firms.

Read "Can PE win deals if it doesn't deal with DEI?": https://www.ey.com/en_gl/private-equity/can-pe-win-deals-if-it-doesn-t-deal-with-dei

Calculate how long it will take to achieve your diversity goals: https://kenaninstitute.unc.edu/diversity-integration-model/

Ten ways male PE leaders can support and mentor their female colleagues:

1. Serve as role models and mentors
2. Engage with colleagues who are different from yourself
3. Encourage women to realize their value
4. Promote stories of inspiring women
5. Engage in small interventions
6. Embody inclusive leadership
7. Give cultural shifts time to come to fruition
8. Build a diverse talent pipeline from the bottom over time
9. Recognize that recruiting senior women is not a "quick win"
10. Model how long it will take to achieve your diversity goals with the EY Diversity Integration Model