(Bloomberg Businessweek) --
When it comes to women making gains in MBA programs, the long-term trends are encouraging, even as progress can seem painfully slow.
According to a report from the Forté Foundation, the number of entering female students this fall at 61 MBA programs in the US and abroad reached a new high of 6,166. Since 2020, enrollment of female students has increased 13%, outpacing the 3% growth rate for men and women combined. The schools all are members of Forté, an advocacy organization that works to help more women earn an MBA. The nonprofit has published annual data on women’s enrollment since 2011. That year, there were roughly 4,000 women enrolled in full-time MBA programs at 39 schools.
Women made up 42% of all students enrolled in an MBA program this fall, the same percentage as in 2023. “We were like, ‘Are we stuck?’” says Forté Chief Executive Officer Elissa Sangster. “But we’ve had so many years of growth, it’s natural to have some static years. And in the last year, the numbers of total enrollment for both men and women increased. I always say that in a classroom, whether it’s 45% or 50% women, you can’t really tell the difference.”
The goal of having women make up at least half of students has eluded most graduate business schools, but there is progress on that front, too. Eight of the 61 schools analyzed by Forté—Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, Northeastern University D’Amore-McKim School of Business, University of Texas at Dallas Jindal School of Management, Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School, Duke University, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and France’s EDHEC Business School—achieved parity with the fall 2024 entering class, a new high. All but Northwestern had at least 51% female enrollment, with Johns Hopkins leading the way at 59%. (George Washington ranked No. 1 in diversity in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2024 Best B-School Rankings—women represented 65% of its fall 2023 class.)
For such schools, there is a kind of tipping point when success feeds on itself, says Susan Kulp, GW’s director of MBA programs. “People attract people who are like themselves, and once you hit a certain number, women want to feel at home and comfortable in their peer group, and it becomes likely that you’ll keep or increase that number.”
In this year’s study, 19 schools reported 45% or higher women’s enrollment, a big gain from 10 years ago when not a single Forté school reached that mark. Compounding the challenge of equal representation is the fact that some schools achieve the 50% goal but are not able to sustain it.
MBA programs are employing various strategies to increase women’s enrollment. One non-Forté school, the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management—which is No. 13 in diversity on Businessweek’s list with 51% female students (it ranks 62nd overall among US MBA programs)—attributes its success to initiatives like webinars, recruitment events and focus groups featuring alumni that are specifically targeted toward women. “Enrolling in business school is a big decision, especially for women trying to raise their kids at the same time,” says Jennifer Gammell, assistant dean for enrollment management. “But for those looking to advance their career, we have alumni who are always happy to mentor and guide them through the career process after degree completion.”
Looking ahead, Forté’s Sangster says, “the goal now is to keep working with schools to get everybody into that 40% to 50% range or higher.” The ultimate objective, she says, is to see more women with MBAs move into corporate leadership roles. That will be a challenge: Among S&P 500 CEOs, Forté reports, fully 41% have MBAs or an equivalent advanced business degree, but only 7.4% are women.
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