No progress for senior women in hedge funds and private equity, says Fox & Partners report

By Nell Mackenzie

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Women made up 15.26% of partners in UK hedge funds, private equities and other financial services in the year to last July, a decline of 0.1% from the previous year, a report on Friday from law firm Fox & Partners.

Here are some details of the report:

Just 794 women worked in hedge funds, private equity firms and other financial services partnerships compared to 4,411 male partners.

"These figures indicate without any meaningful change in how firms recruit, retain and promote talent, the industry risks repeating the same numbers for years to come," said Anu Chhabra founder of the Women in Finance Group.

Numbers across broader financial services are higher than private markets firms, which often trail the broader industry.

One reason why there has been very little progress in gender diversity over the last two years might be explained by push back against company diversity and inclusion policies since Donald Trump's election as U.S. President, said Catriona Watt, Partner at Fox & Partners in the report.

Failing to make progress increases the risk of legal claims, said Watt.

Hedge funds and private equity firms do not face the same scrutiny as publicly listed financial institutions.

Report based on freedom of information request from the Financial Conduct Authority.

Women held 18.6% of senior leadership roles across UK financial services businesses, compared with just 15.3% of partners at companies that were structured as a partnership, said a September report by the law firm.