Private equity isn’t an industry many people know much about, and so it’s hard for our schools to talk knowledgeably about this sector to their pupils. However, as the insightful quote from Judith Milne points out above, it’s particularly hard when those you do see in those roles, on the television perhaps, don’t look like you.

More so than ever, if firms want to encourage girls to join the private equity industry, they need to engage in out-reach programmes to inspire and engage those talented people from the next generation. Another area we’ve seen grow is clients inviting those from more diverse backgrounds for insight days, which I’m sure have been invaluable to attendees.

Thames Water recently saw a surge in women applying for manual jobs after they made their wording in adverts less masculine. It identified words like “competitive”, “confident” and “champion” as masculine coded. Since they changed the language, the proportion of female applicants surged by 46%.

Firms needs to demand more from their recruitment partners. Much of this industry’s hiring is done via search, but at junior levels advertising plays a part and clearly language needs to change.

Studies have shown that women are still more likely to take on more child responsibilities at home and to take more timeout from work. The latter point has been shown in some studies to be perceived as a lack of professional commitment. Combine this with an industry with long hours, plus time spent commuting, and the problem is compounding the problem of a lack of senior female advancement.

However, in our recent survey an overwhelming number of people, 92% of respondents, favour some sort of flexible working. We feel it will be hard for firms to demand their staff return to offices five days a week without some flexible working arrangements. We can only see this helping female workers and the benefits for employers will be numerous, including increased retention.

Many were aware of gender diversity five years ago, but we can’t remember any female candidates ever asking us about a prospective employer’s gender diversity. However, now candidates ask us all the time about a firm’s board composition. In effect, the message is “if I don’t see any female leaders, what does that say about my career prospects if I’m a woman in that firm?”.

A key part of our client meetings now is asking firms if they are a signatory to the Women in Finance Charter (please click here for a list of signatories). It’s not just a sales tool or corporate platitudes, it matters.

Investors too demand firms display modern management attitudes and as part of their due diligence they are asking more firms about their diversity policy. Investors are very aware of the research supporting diverse workforces being more successful.

I was talking to a friend of mine recently, who has a successful career in sales, and she made the point that in her experience there wasn’t an “old girls' club”. There wasn’t an established network that aspiring females could tap into, and there were few female mentors. Therefore, female networking events are very important to help build these useful ties.