When Buyouts launched its inaugural Women in PE list in 2020, women represented less than 20% of private equity staff and just 12% of senior roles. Progress remains slow: a 2025 Columbia Business School study found only 5% of 661 US PE firms are led by women, with 350 firms having no women in senior positions. Fairview Capital Partners reported 212 women-owned firms in 2025, an 11% decline from 2024's peak, with buyout representing only 13% of that total.

Bright spots include Elizabeth Weymouth's $600 million debut fund at Grafine Partners and Stephanie Geveda's $900 million fund at Coalesce Capital. Revisiting 2020 honorees reveals significant career growth, expansion into new strategies, and focus on AI applications. However, leaders emphasize human-centric advice for the next generation: cultivating relationships through apprenticeship rather than apps, prioritizing values-aligned career paths, and navigating challenges of remote relationship-building.

Michelle Noon, founder and managing partner of Clearhaven Partners, exemplifies this trajectory. Since founding the software-focused lower mid-market buyout firm in 2019, she has raised about $1 billion across two funds and acquired sixteen companies. Noon notes AI has shifted from experimentation (2022-2024) to real-world application in 2026, with Clearhaven investing in AI-driven portfolio monitoring and using in-house talent as "river guides" for implementation across portfolio companies.