The Business Case for Women-Led Portfolio Companies in Consumer PE

Why should private equity firms care about hiring more women to lead their portfolio companies in the consumer sector? It comes down to the exit. 

Women Control the Wallet 

Research from Capital One published earlier this year paints a striking picture of who is actually driving consumer spending: 

• Women are directly or indirectly responsible for 85% of U.S. household shopping and purchasing decisions 

• Women are the primary shoppers in 78.2% of U.S. households 

• Globally, women account for $40 trillion in consumer spending  

Women are controlling an enormous share of the wallet. Yet very few of the businesses they are buying from are led by women. 

The Leadership Gap 

According to Fortune, only 11% of Fortune 500 companies are led by a female CEO. In private equity, that number drops even further. JM Search’s own research indicates that just 8.6% of PE-backed companies are led by women. Within the PE-backed consumer space specifically, that share ticks up slightly, but the bottom line does not change: very few women are leading the businesses whose primary customer is women. 

Why It Pays to Signal Support for Women Leaders 

Capital One’s research also highlights that: 

• 78% of women say they will try a company’s products if they know it supports women-owned businesses 

• 85% of women report some degree of brand loyalty 

• More than half of women will give a company a second chance even after a misstep 

For investors, the math is simple. Signaling support for women-led businesses opens the door to a larger share of that $40 trillion in spending. With holding periods continuing to extend and the right acquisition opportunities harder to come by, organic growth is increasingly the lever necessary for driving an exit. Installing a woman leader who can help capture more market share may be part of the growth equation. 

The Real Challenge: Finding the Talent 

Deciding to hire more women leaders is one thing, but finding them is another. Part of this is a pipeline issue. The pool of women who are qualified, interested, and available for top seats is smaller than it should be. However, part of it may also be a networking problem: investors relying on their existing networks to source talent could simply be missing high-potential women candidates. 

Columbia Business School’s 2025 research found that only 22% of investment professionals are women, and just 6% of senior investment professionals are women. Since the majority of PE leaders sourcing candidates through their networks are men, they may be inadvertently overlooking strong female talent. 

This is where outside resources, like an executive search firm, can help. A search partner can widen the aperture, surfacing candidates who might be a strong fit but fall outside a firm’s traditional sourcing channels. 

For private equity leaders in the consumer sector eyeing an exit, growth strategy has to start with a clear-eyed look at who controls wallet share – and who is chosen to lead the business trying to win it. That choice may be doing more to shape the growth trajectory than most realize.