Business Schools Improving Gender Parity

What has long been an issue in business schools is finally starting to improve. Female representation is now nearing 40 percent or more of MBA students at Harvard Business School, Wharton, Yale School of Management, Northwestern’s Kellogg, Tuck School of Business, MIT’s Sloan, University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, as well as other schools, according to a new study by the Forte Foundation, whose goal is to promote business education or woman via training and scholarships. The group has signed up over 70,000 members and has given out nearly $85 million in fellowships to over 3,900 students.

On average, in business school 36 percent of students are female, up from 32 percent of students in 2011. “This should go a long way in building the senior leadership pipeline at companies and on boards,” said Elissa Sangster, Executive Director of the Forté Foundation. Even more impressive 12 Forté Foundation U.S. member schools reported 40% or more women enrolled compared to last year’s high of five schools reaching this milestone. In addition, 16 U.S. schools have 35% or more female students, along with London Business School outside of the U.S., compared with just three schools hitting this mark a decade ago in 2005.

Increasing female representation at business school has been a big focus this year. A few months ago the White House kicked off an initiative with leading business schools to create programs that would be more welcoming to female participants.

How did Forte do it? They have introduced a number of programs since its founding in 2001. For example, they hold an annual leadership conference that brings together business school students and recruiting companies. Additionally, they have rolled out a program to reach undergraduate woman while they are freshman and sophomores with the Forte College to Business Leadership Conference. At this conference, they educate young woman about careers in business and help the attendees connect with recruiters looking for summer interns or entry level opportunities. Forte also increased their investment in scholarships. When the program first started they were giving out scholarships to about three dozen woman. This year they handed out over 800. Other interesting programs include their MBALaunch series which is a hands-on 10-month program that provides guidance, resources, and ongoing feedback on the business school application process, including monthly webinars, peer group meetings, and feedback from experienced advisors.

Why is Forte investing so heavily in helping woman get into and succeed at top business school programs? “There is some evidence that earning an MBA is a ticket to the top as 41% of Fortune 100 CEOs have an MBA, according to our research. While we’re asking women to lean in, we need to also consider the education gender gap at business schools,” said Sangster.

If you are a female applicant considering business school, there has never been a better time to go. It is clear that now there is a strong support system to make sure female applicants are treated fairly in both the admissions process and during school.