According to a new article by Rebecca Knight in the Financial Times (free registration required), the typical MBA classroom now has more women in it than ever before. The article cites a study by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which shows that women now make up about 37% of the student body at traditional full-time B-Schools in the U.S., up from 33% just five years ago (and up from 30% ten years ago).
This steady progress in closing the gender gap is the result of constant effort on the part of top B-Schools. In the last decade, schools have started to aggressively recruit students before they even graduate college, host more women-oriented events on campus to help prospective applicants get a taste of life at B-School, and partner with organizations like the Forte Foundation (a Veritas Prep partner) to meet more female applicants in their hometowns.
Even better news is that this is not a uniquely American phenomenon — most top B-Schools in Europe also have attracted more women. INSEAD’s most recent graduating class, for example, was 34% women, up from 23% in 2000.
Admissions officers interviewed by the Financial Times all pointed to one significant disadvantage that MBA programs have in attracting women, compared to other professional graduate programs: Most schools expect applicant to have at least several years of full-time work experience before applying. For some young women thinking of starting a family soon, the idea of needing to build up a few years of professional momentum before even applying to school means that they may have to wait longer than they would like before having children.
This partly explains top B-Schools’ push to attract younger applicants (such as Harvard B-School’s HBS 2+2 Program). Early results seem to suggest that these programs are in fact attracting more women: About half of the 116 students in the program’s first year are women, compared to the full-time MBA program’s Class of 2010, which is 38% women. (And we’re proud to say that we helped a few of those women get accepted to the program!)
For more advice on getting into the world’s top B-Schools, be sure to subscribe to this blog and to follow us on Twitter. If you want to get your candidacy started immediately, call us at (800) 925-7737 and speak with a Veritas Prep admissions expert today!
Read the full article: More Women Than Ever Are Going to B-School