Dear G3GMAT,
Thanks for your post!
You raise an excellent question about whether or not women have any inherent advantages or disadvantages in the MBA admissions process.
On the most basic level, the playing field is level in the sense that all the leading MBA programs are looking to identify candidates with high intellectual aptitude, solid work experience, leadership skills, unique outside interests, diverse backgrounds, etc. Given the level of competition for spaces at these schools, you'll likely find these attributes in all students admitted to top business schools.
Having said that, women are clearly a bit of a minority in the MBA admissions world (even the leading MBA programs have trouble getting close to 40% women in each year's class). As such, on the margin, women have a slight advantage in that they are under-represented in the process. In other words, if two candidates are absolutely equal in all areas, but one is female and the other is male, the edge will go to the woman in most cases - as women tend to be in high demand at leading programs looking for a balanced class (whereas there is no shortage of male applicants).
Also, in terms of any 'reservations' the adcom may have with female applicants, I haven't seen any in my career in admissions. In fact, I've actually seen adcoms exhibit a great deal of flexibility with regards to the female applicant pool - in some cases admitting female students at a slightly younger age than their male peers, out of sensitivity to issues regarding the desire to get a career into full gear before starting a family, etc.
This is a rather lengthly response to your question, but in short I'd say that being a woman in the MBA admissions process offers a slight advantage - and that the schools certainly have no reservations about admitting female applicants.
Best of luck,
Graham
