Enrollment of women in MBA programs is increasing. A program's classroom and community cultures are important. Female representation among faculty and administrators can be revealing.
Women have outnumbered men on college campuses since the late 1970s, and now female students make up about 6 in 10 undergraduate students.
While this is not the case for business schools, where male students are still a majority, women are making steady inroads in MBA programs, says Stephanie Bryant, chief accreditation officer at the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
“Women have really claimed their rightful place,” she says, pointing to AACSB data showing a steady uptick in female enrollment in MBA programs. In the 2022-2023 academic year, women made up 46% of students enrolled in U.S. MBA programs, up from 43% in 2018-2019. Globally, women were 44% of enrolled students in 2022-2023, up from 42% in 2018-2019.
Although gender discrimination has historically been a barrier for women wanting to pursue business education, Bryant says, women interested in applying to business school should not feel discouraged. They should be prepared to advocate for themselves and their interests throughout the application process, experts say.
Consider asking the following questions to gauge whether a program is welcoming to female MBA students.
Community support is crucial for building confidence – something women struggle with in business school, experts say.
“You take almost any MBA classroom, and the........