Women, visible minorities gaining ground in venture capital, private equity: study

Diversity is increasing across Canada’s venture capital and private equity landscape, a new survey suggests.

Research published Wednesday by the Business Development Bank of Canada found that 88 per cent of general partners (GPs) the organization surveyed had at least one woman on their investment committees last year. That was up from 63 per cent in 2021.

Seventy-six per cent of GP respondents reported at least one person from a visible minority group on their investment committees, up from 55 per cent in 2021.

GPs manage venture capital and private equity funds and thus, oversee teams that make major investment decisions shaping a startup’s trajectory and the broader Canadian economy. 

BDC surveyed 68 GPs and more than 550 portfolio companies over the winter for its report. The organization which helps finance businesses said data suggests there is 290 GPs in venture capital and 558 in private equity in Canada. 

The gains span a small portion of the broader industry but offer a window into a powerful section of corporate Canada that is not often studied through a gender or visible minority lens.

Geneviève Bouthillier, executive vice-president of BDC Capital, was heartened by what her organization found 

“There’s still a long way to go, but this is great news,” she said.

She felt positively because the report suggests a shift within a pocket of the venture capital and private equity sector, where women and visible minorities have long lagged their male and white counterparts.

Advocates have worked for decades to change these patterns, pointing to research that shows giving more women a seat at the leadership table and a say in how money is spent results in better business performance, improved corporate culture and more innovation.

A 2025 survey from Grant Thornton quantified some of those benefits. It said 20 per cent of the 14,000 businesses it surveyed found a diverse senior team made their business attractive to prospective clients and investors. A similar proportion reported equality strategies led to better decision-making.

“If you’re all male or … all people coming from the same background, same university, having had the same experiences, you’re not going to see all angles in your business decisions, so it’s as simple as that,” Bouthillier said. 

When BDC looked at GPs in 2024, it counted 45 per cent with senior investment teams where women made up half the members. A year earlier, the number sat at 38 per cent.

About 50 per cent of general partners reported at least half the members of their investment teams were visible minorities, up from 40 per cent in 2023. 

Yet there were some declines. The share of GPs reporting that at least half their junior team was made up of visible minorities dropped to 41 per cent in 2024 from 63 per cent in 2023. It declined to 43 per cent from 49 per cent for women in 2023.

BDC defines visible minorities as people who are not Indigenous and also are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.

The numbers are a sign more has to be done to attract — and retain — diverse talent, Bouthillier said. 

“To attract all sorts of diversities, they have to have role models,” she said. “That is starting to happen, but they have got to see it to believe it.”

The entrepreneurship bank’s research showed women now account for half of the workforce in 22 per cent of the surveyed portfolio companies. They made up about 19 per cent in 2023 and 14 per cent in 2021.

BDC also found fewer boards composed entirely of men, more companies that had visible minorities in their senior ranks and an increase in workforce representation for veterans, the LGBTQ2+ and Indigenous populations. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2025.