Market gap
Women remain a minority on MBA courses around the globe according to a recent study published by the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
Women represent only about three in 10 of all MBA students worldwide at AMBA-accredited schools. And it’s a gender imbalance that varies little from the application process through to graduation, with women making up 30 per cent of applications, 31 per cent of offers, 32 per cent of enrolments and 31 per cent of graduations overall.
Based on these findings AMBA suggests that women could provide “a new market for schools seeking to expand their enrolment”.
The study also examined the international movement of MBA students between countries, determining that the UK attracts the most foreign students to its MBA programs and that India gives up the highest number of students to programs in other countries.
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Did the report say why women weren't represented in MBA classes?
It is interesting and I would very much like to learn the reasons why this is the case.
Thank you for your comments. Suggestions for less women starting MBA's are supplied by Jeanette Purcell, the Association of MBAs chief executive:
"Most people embark on MBAs between the ages of 27 and 40, which is when women are most likely to be having and bringing up children," she says. "At the start of their thirties, women are often starting to think about their domestic responsibilities."
But age alone is unlikely to be the whole reason for the imbalance. "There is an unfortunate and misleading perception of the MBA as a qualification which exists in a macho environment in which women are less likely to fit in. That could scare some people off," she says.
There is also evidence that some employers are less keen to support a female executive through the process of an MBA than they are a man rising up through the ranks, she says.
For more information on the findings please visit The Independent
Thanks Rebecca. I wonder if more women would do MBAs if they were offered on a more flexible basis?
Interestingly, for the first time ever I believe, there is now gender equality in schooling around the world.
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/socind/education.htm
Apparently before long it will begin to favour women.
Of course that's not strictly related to MBAs, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless :)
There's an interesting discussion here on the Guardian about this
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jul/20/mbas-higher-education
"If business schools are serious about encouraging more women to do MBAs, flexibility and support should be simple enough to provide."