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Quigley Pushes for Larger Role for Women in Finance

October 4, 2016

CHICAGO – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), a member of the New Democrat Coalition, joined ACG Global and prominent Chicago women in finance for a roundtable discussion to better understand the barriers women face in their ascent to leadership positions in the financial sector and what Congress can do to help remove these hurdles.

“Women now make up over 50 percent of our workforce, but are clearly missing from the leadership tables of major financial institutions across the country, especially when you look at venture capital and private equity firms,” said Rep. Quigley. “Learning more about the financial sector and the challenges these distinguished women face proves just how important it is to keep fighting for women’s equality and opportunity in all aspects of life, but especially the workplace. I’m appreciative of ACG Global for highlighting this issue and to the many women leaders who joined us today.”

"It is an honor to host this discussion with Congressman Mike Quigley," said ACG Global President and CEO Gary LaBranche."With over 1000 middle-market private capital firms in the ACG membership, it’s important that we discuss the topic of inclusivity and diversity in the industry. ACG looks forward to working with Rep. Quigley and others in Congress to encourage and support women in choosing a career path that grows companies, creates jobs and provides good returns to investors."

During the event, Rep. Quigley joined ACG Global and women in leadership positions at some of Chicago’s most prominent investment firms to discuss the current state of women in top financial leadership positions. They explored the issue of underrepresentation of women in these positions and best practices for closing the gap. The women also shared their thoughts on how Congress could help encourage and inspire more women to become involved in the financial industry.

Women make up more than half of the workforce in financial institutions, but continue to dramatically fall short of their male counterparts in leadership roles. According to a report from Crain’s Chicago Business, only seven percent of senior leadership roles worldwide, including administrative executives, were occupied by women this year, a decline from 2014 numbers. According to another report by Morningstar, only two percent of all U.S. investment funds are exclusively run by women, in contrast to men who exclusively run 78 percent of funds. This is despite the fact that numerous studies have shown that women at actively-managed funds tend to outperform their male counterparts.

Illinois has tried to reverse this course by passing a law encouraging its state pension funds to direct investments to women-owned and minority-owned managers. Unfortunately, that has not done enough to expand women's presence in the industry.

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Women in Finance Roundtable

Rep. Quigley speaking with women leaders from private equity firms in Chicago to better understand barriers women face in their ascent to leadership positions in the financial sector and what Congress can do to help remove these hurdles.

Rep. Quigley met with Allison Reinke, The Private Bank; Amber Landis, ACG Global; Ann Brophy, Shorehill Capital; Ann-Alice Homsy, Prime Finance Group; Heather Madland, Huron Capital Partners; Debbie Ackerman, Twin Bridge Capital; Suzanne S. Yoon, Versa Capital Management; Shoshana Vernick, Sterling Partners; Christine Melendes, ACG Global; Kristin Gomez, ACG Global; and Kim Vender Moffatt, Sterling Partners.

Rep. Quigley is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of congressional lawmakers that promotes policies that harness American ingenuity, innovation and entrepreneurship to grow our economy. This year, Rep. Quigley participated in “Start-Up Day Across America” at Curiosity and Reverb.com, two Chicago-based tech companies, to discuss the importance of high-tech entrepreneurship and ways the government can support the industry. He was a supporter of the 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act and cosponsored an original part of this legislation that focused on helping businesses raise the capital needed to expand and create jobs. This legislation was signed into law by President Obama in April 2012.