The Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (LPEA) recently signed “The Pledge” of Equilibre, the Luxembourg initiative that aims to ensure the participation of women in conference panels. 

By signing this pledge, LPEA has committed itself to ensuring that its conferences and workshops are gender diversified (#NoWomenNoPanel).

According to Rajaa Mekouar-Schneider, CEO of LPEA: “There are many women in our network eager to be more active and vocal in public events and with as much experience and knowledge as their male counterparts. While they may be slightly more difficult to map out in the beginning, I trust we can become net contributors to Equilibre by bringing forward women from the private equity world to other business events”.

Larissa Best, Director of Equilibre, added: “We are delighted to have LPEA join the ranks of the companies and associations in Luxembourg and beyond who are committed to diversity and inclusion at conferences and on panels. This initiative will drive more women to attend events as they feel represented. Why is this important? Because networking is of essence for career options later on and networking happens at events".

Signing the Pledge of Equilibre follows the launch of the Private Equity for Women (PE4W) initiative within the LPEA which aims at raising awareness and facilitating the career ascension of women among private equity (PE) firms across the board. Although many women play an active role in PE investment and servicing firms, only few are able to reach management and “C” level roles. In fact, PE is the financial industry with the lowest percentage of women in senior roles, with only 6% in top executive positions.

As part of this diversity drive, the LPEA just published its latest magazine with a special section dedicated to women. In this publication, further to the cover interview of Dörte Höppner (ex CEO of Invest Europe), the magazine maps some of the women working in PE investment firms, with 26 portraits of such professionals.

LPEA is also due to launch a scaled-up mentoring programme with a high-level moderator and trainer, Myles Downey, a leading expert in Performance, Coaching and Leadership for a dedicated training for female members of LPEA, to which men are also invited.