A collective endeavour
Level 20 firmly believes that change will only be achieved by working together with the industry and its advocates. We work with firms, industry bodies, advisory partners, regulators and academia to address challenges and conduct research & data driven insight to benchmark and support progress.
Aims & objectives
AWARENESS
Create a strong voice for women in private equity
COLLABORATION
Work with industry leaders and sponsors to increase the number of female professionals in the industry
CO-OPERATION
Support firms to be more inclusive and to attract, retain and promote female talent in individual firms
INSIGHT
Publish data and insights on gender representation and barriers to inclusion in the industry, establishing benchmarks for progress
DEBATE
Contribute to public and regulatory dialogue on diversity, equity and inclusion in financial services
Level 20 guidance for the industry
Level 20 encourages the industry to support its mission by engaging in our activities. Our research provides data-led insights and suggested actions firms can take towards more inclusive environments. We encourage private equity firms to implement Level 20’s guidance within their organisations by:
- Committing to Level 20’s mission
- Building an inclusive culture in which talent can thrive
- Developing leadership skills throughout the firm
- Supporting talent to progress through implementation of policies and frameworks
Our reports and case studies (available here) include more detail on specific actions firms can take under each area above.
Our current recommendations highlight the importance of providing opportunities for women to build their track records and experience to succeed. Other key areas include access to mentoring and sponsorship (both internal and external), family leave policies and practices, setting and enforcing expectations on behaviours throughout the firm, the visibility of role models, and transparency on promotion pathways.
Engaging with Level 20
At Level 20, we firmly believe that change will only be achieved by working together with industry leaders. The industry can engage with Level 20 at an individual level as members, and at an organisational level as sponsors.
Membership is free and open to all individuals working in the industry. We are also supported by a large network of volunteers, stakeholders and senior leaders across the European industry. Sponsors and supporters fund Level 20’s activities covering research and insight, professional networking, career development and industry engagement.
GPs and LPs that sponsor Level 20 support our mission and participate in events and discussions with our sponsor community. Level 20 provides exclusive resources to sponsors through our Sponsor Portal and events programme.
Note: we do not operate a corporate membership. Individuals sign up as members independently of their firms and members do not have to work at sponsor firms to sign up.
Working with industry leaders
Maite Ballester Explains how collaboration is the key to industry advocacy
Working with industry leaders, as well as Level 20 partners and volunteers, we deliver initiatives such as our research to support firms in the industry.
Our advocacy work includes speaking at industry conferences to share our insights and working to increase media coverage of our research.
We work with our sponsor community, providing resources and forums to discuss best practices and practical actions firms can implement, both for themselves, and collectively, for us all as an industry.
Our sponsor programme includes digital and in-person peer-to-peer events for our lead partners and HR contacts, as well as networking and workshops.
The Sponsor Portal is a curated hub of external and commissioned resources exclusively for sponsors, such as the Family Leave Framework produced in collaboration with Deloitte and guides produced with The Tall Wall. The portal also includes a directory of providers and speakers sourced from Level 20’s network, as well as materials from sponsor roundtables and events.