Catherwood LibraryILR School

A grievance filed in 2016 against one of the world’s most successful hedge funds, Baupost Group, has revealed gender discrimination issues that women face in the often secretive hedge fund industry; at the same time, two of Baupost’s Boston neighbors in the financial services industry, Fidelity Investments and State Street Corp., are dealing with their own complaints concerning sexual harassment and pay inequality. The lucrative hedge fund industry oversees over $3 trillion in investments, with managers taking home a 20% cut of the profits. However, women are underrepresented in investment jobs but over-represented in support roles such as marketing. Women hold only 11 percent of senior roles at hedge funds, 21 percent of mid-level positions, and 26 percent of junior positions. 81 percent of women at alternative asset managers in North America report that it is harder for women to succeed, with 44 percent claiming that women are depicted as being more committed to personal lives than work. Baupost declined to comment on the particular case - which questioned Baupost’s record of retaining women after childbirth – but stated that the company works hard at promoting women into leadership roles, but has suffered from an industry-wide shortage of female applicants for investment positions.