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Diversity, equity,
and inclusion

Committing to constant progress

Fostering an environment that promotes mutual respect and acceptance among all team members, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnic origin, marital status, abilities, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or expression has been key to our success since our founding in 1982. More than forty years later, we strive to uphold this proud legacy by cultivating a culture where everyone can be their full selves, have a true sense of belonging, and thrive.

HarbourVest’s DEI Report highlights our decades-long journey, ongoing efforts, and forward-looking strategy.

We are determined to develop the best talent in the world and know strengthening the diversity of our team is core to that mission.
Kelley King Senior Vice President & Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer

Recognizing the value of our differences

Building a diverse team that accurately reflects the world we inhabit is essential to achieving our objectives. This work requires introspection, honesty, and an ongoing commitment to learning and improvement. With this in mind, we embrace a transparent process of setting goals, measuring progress, and pushing ourselves ever further.

Women

Managing
Directors
0 %
Senior
Leadership
0 %
Overall
0 %

Asian, Black, Latine, Native American, or 2+ races

Managing
Directors
0 %
Senior
Leadership
0 %
Overall
0 %

Data as of 6/30/23

No matter where we are in our careers, or what we may think we know about a certain topic – we need to bring an open mind to every conversation and truly listen to one another.
Carl Payne
Internship Program Manager

Investing in future leaders

We are proud to partner with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), #10000BlackInterns, and Girls are Investors (GAIN) to develop opportunities at HarbourVest for high achieving students who are typically underrepresented in our industry. This internship program combines the strength of our inclusive heritage with an understanding that sowing the seeds of future growth begins with the mentorship of young professionals.

Ensuring all employees are seen, heard, and valued

DEI Council

Our DEI Council was founded in 2019 with three key principles: opportunity for all, mutual respect, and global strength.
Learn more about our DEI Council

Employee resource groups

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) were established to provide support, help with personal or career development, and create a safe space where employees can bring their whole selves to the table. 
Learn more about our ERGs

Dedicating ourselves to continuous learning

HarbourVest University (HVU) supports employee development through live training sessions, on-demand digital courses and microlearnings.   

  • Employees have access to 8,000+ interactive digital courses on a wide variety of professional development topics ranging from highly technical courses to relevant business skills courses.
  • A full suite of digital on-demand Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion courses and microlearnings are available, including specific courses on microagressions, allyship, and inclusive language.
  • To assist with DEI educational journeys, learning paths have been created to guide employees through a sequence of courses relating to a topic or behavior.

HarbourVest University offers live courses that are either virtual or in-person events to accommodate employee work styles and locations.

Examples of live DEI training programs are listed below:

  1. Global Respectful Workplace
    • Required review of our Global Respectful Workplace Policy which was adopted to formalize the standards of behavior we expect from each other to ensure all members of the HarbourVest community are treated with respect and dignity. Training includes in-depth exploration of these values and how to practically implement them in the workplace.
  2. Conscious Inclusion
    • Required training designed to help our team explore the impact of conscious and unconscious bias, consider the science behind these phenomena, and build awareness of their own reactions to daily events. During each session, participants work together to identify actions that foster inclusive behavior in the workplace and our communities.
  3. Talent Selection
    • Three-hour training sessions to examine best practices for eliminating bias throughout the hiring process. Real-life scenarios focus on behavioral interviewing and provide hiring managers with a toolkit to successfully navigate a full recruiting cycle.

Strengthening the communities in which we live and work

Our charitable giving and volunteering program provides opportunities for our teams around the globe to support causes that are important to them.

  • Volunteer weeks:

    Colleagues worldwide come together to embrace both virtual and in-person opportunities to donate their time to local causes during business hours.

  • Employee service days:

    Each employee gets two days of paid “time off” per year to volunteer with organizations addressing social inequality in our local communities.

We’ve all wondered how we can do things differently. As change agents, we need to stay on task, follow through, and hold ourselves accountable.
Sanjiv Shah Managing Director

Working to make access to private capital more equitable

We have a long history of supporting emerging and diverse managers and under-resourced markets. This commitment includes working to identify promising fund managers, connect them with capital, and engage with the industry to push for systemic improvement over time.

As a leading global LP and an experienced, well-known leader and participant in the emerging and diverse manager markets, we utilize our platform to maintain the widest possible funnel and strong deal pipeline with GPs seeking capital for their first, second, and third-time funds.

Creating partnerships that push our industry forward

HarbourVest team members are actively engaged in leadership positions with the following organizations focused on advancing varying DEI initiatives:

We are honored to have been recognized for our DEI work

Top 10 Most Inclusive PE Firm

HarbourVest Partners has been named one of the top-10 most inclusive private equity firms by the Equality Group

LP Diversity & Inclusion Leader of the Year

HarbourVest was recognized as Diversity & Inclusion Leader of the Year – LP by The Real Deals Private Equity Awards

While we believe our DEI efforts have been impactful for our teams, our communities, and our clients, we recognize this is not the time for complacency. There is more work to be done, and we look forward to what is yet to come.

Continuation solutions encompass a host of transaction types in which a GP secures interim liquidity and/or additional primary capital for their LPs in a strongly performing asset, or set of assets, that the GP will continue to own and control. Specifically, they include continuation funds, new funds created by GPs for the purpose of acquiring the asset(s) that continue to be managed by the same GP and capitalized by one or several secondary buyers, or equity recapitalizations involving a direct equity or structured equity investment into a portfolio company. These transactions can also include a parallel investment from the GP’s latest fund into that same pool of assets (a “cross-fund trade”).