Why Do Women Remain Outnumbered By Men in MBA Programs?
The representation of women in MBA programs remains fairly abysmal. Last fall the Economist magazine noted among the business schools their magazine surveyed globally, only a third of the students are women, a ratio which has not improved from a decade ago. Yet, the women MBAs we encounter when writing and marketing on behalf of business schools often report no real barriers to entry exist. This raises three controversial questions we will address in this blog series:
- Do barriers to entry exist for women MBAs?
- What deters women from applying?
- How can business programs market differently to this group?
Do barriers to entry exist and what deters women from applying?
The responses and experiences of women MBAs differ depending on age, life stage and professional experience, however recurring themes do exist. Dawn Edgerton is a graduate of NC State's Jenkins MBA Program at the Poole College of Management. Prior to business school, Edgerton worked as a programmer for UNC Chapel Hill supporting social sciences research. Now she is a statistical programming scientist for Rho Inc.
Edgerton felt no barriers to entry when pursuing her MBA. (Her class ratio was 70:30 men to women). She does however, believe having her husband’s support was pivotal for her success. “My husband handled all household tasks I traditionally handled and this made everything more manageable,” Edgerton says. "He knew if I tried to live my mother, wife, professional and student life as normal I would burn out.”
Another alumna from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University says her husband was immensely helpful, taking over bedtime routine for their child so she could study immediately after dinner. “Between work and study, I could not do everything," she says.
Other women did see many perceived barriers: MBA programs can be viewed as too competitive, the schedule unbearably rigorous or the finance portion too tough. Simply knowing that a program is male dominated can be off-putting too, some say.
How MBA programs can better market to female candidates:
Many women interviewed for this blog had ideas on how MBA programs might market themselves differently in order to attract more female candidates. These ideas are shared anonymously, on their request:
- At the info sessions, have more women MBA alumni as guest speakers
- When women MBA candidates reach out to the program, suggest they gain a female mentor with an MBA so they can hear first-hand how specifically the degree has helped.
- Show positive role models of alumna who have achieved a good work/life balance and been able to start their families and achieve a well paid job with their MBA. Many women also view the MBA as a way to start their own business and don’t want a finance job with exhausting hours. Show this is possible.
- In the marketing material (employment reports, view books, alumni magazines etc.), show a fair balance of men and women. If the school attracts 30% female students or less, then don’t make women 80% of the profiles. This feels misleading.
- MBA programs have a reputation of being super competitive, but many programs aren’t that cutthroat. Perhaps showing men and women working cordially on team projects would be helpful.