Only 11.7% of leadership roles in the private equity industry are held by women, according to a study released Tuesday by Preqin, an alternatives data provider.
The study concluded that—true—women's representation in the private equity sector had improved, but still languished "markedly low at 11.7%" of overall global proportion of leadership roles.
But the venture capital sector has made a notable improvement in the hiring of women to senior positions. A year ago, venture capital firms at 11.2% ranked behind infrastructure and real estate firms in the proportion of women holding the highest level of senior positions. In 2015, that proportion rose significantly to 14.8% to lead the other private equity strategies.
Infrastructure firms also saw a substantial rise in the proportion of women in high-level jobs, to 14% from 11.7% last year, and at real estate outfits, the proportion rose to 13.6% from 12.8%.
Buyout firms continued to lag, with just 10.5% of women employees in senior roles, up from 8.7% in 2014.
