Foundations and endowments were most likely to employ women among institutional investors. Data from Preqin showed that women made up 46% of the surveyed foundations' staffs and about 41% of endowment employees. Corporate investors and insurance companies were the lowest on the list, each with women making up about one-fifth of their staff.
Asset and wealth managers were near the middle of the pack, employing about 24%.
The top five institutions on the list were also the five with the most women in senior-level positions; however, the senior-level positions were still lower than the total averages. Half of the junior positions at foundations were filled by women, while 38% of senior positions were filled by women. Corporate investors (40% vs. 11%) and government agencies (44% vs. 17%) had larger disparities between women in junior and senior roles.
Smaller investors, by assets, were also more likely to employ women. Funds with less than $1 billion in assets reported an aggregate 20.5% of their senior staff as women, while those larger than $100 billion reported 15.4%. Similar patterns were observed among the mid and junior levels.
