Sponsors eye Bausch + Lomb carve-out opportunity

The Wire

March 4, 2021

Why don't more women lead deals in PE? Sponsors eye Bausch + Lomb carve-out opportunity

Happy Thursday!

What is it about private equity M&A that requires it to be led by men? I’ve heard all kinds of theories over the past few months interviewing folks for our Women in PE coverage. And I’ve yet to land on a definitive conclusion about why women are so severely underrepresented in the leadership ranks on deal teams.

To be clear, this is uniquely an aspect of deal leadership. Women have made strides moving into senior roles in other areas of private equity like investor relations, financing, human resources and even new and growing areas like ESG.

But deal-making? That’s a man’s world. And make no mistake: the true power of any private equity firm emanates from the deal team and the investment committee.

So what gives?

One thing that seems clear is that this is a matter of timing -- women and minority representation in the industry is growing, very slowly. And as more women come into the industry at the beginning of their careers, inevitably more women will move into deal leadership. But it will take time, and to many sources, it’s taking way too long.

Out of all the excuses I’ve heard, the most common is that women want to have families, and deal leadership and raising a family are incompatible. Deal leadership requires long hours, lots of travel and a commitment to immerse in the work above all else. Many women on deal teams, when they move to that critical moment when they are ready to move on to a deal leadership path -- say around vice president or principal level -- choose to take a step back because that also coincides with the time they are considering starting families.

But if this is indeed the case (and I’ve never seen data backing this up), firms themselves bear responsibility for providing flexibility for their talented dealmakers to start families and maintain career momentum. It begs the question - why invest time and resources in talented women only to allow them to slip away because they want to have a family?

Read PE Hub's full wire commentary here...

What do you think? Do you see this situation changing and what needs to happen for more women to move into deal leadership? Reach me at [email protected].

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Regulatory: The one time private equity was mentioned in a confirmation hearing on Tuesday for Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s nominee for SEC chairman, it was characterized by Sen. Elizabeth Warren essentially as a strip and flip scheme. Read it here.