Over the past few years, there has been a significant push to encourage more women to attend business school. Various organizations (MLT, CGSM, Forte Foundation) have provided resources to help women prep for the GMAT, write applicants, and eventually, attend business school. MBA programs themselves have done their part, particularly in improving the culture such as specific recruiting events for female applicants and targeted outreach through employers and other organizations. The momentum and effort behind encouraging more women to go to business school continues to grow.
On campus, administrators, faculty and students have also put forth effort into developing an inclusive and supportive environment for all students, but in particular, ones that are generally underrepresented, such as women. As a result, enrollment numbers at some of the top MBA programs such as Haas and Wharton have risen to the highest levels in recent years.
To find out more about what schools are doing to attract more women and create a more welcoming environment at business school for them, MBASchooled went out and interviewed female student leaders from 5 of the Top MBA Programs in the United States. During that process, we heard about some exciting initiatives schools are undergoing to support their female MBA students, along with capturing some insights and advice from these women on what female applicants should do when it comes to applying to business school.
One of the reasons why I love the internet is because of it’s ability to provide access to information to anyone with a connection. I started this website in hopes of being able to take the stories and the lessons from business school and share them freely to a broader audience My hope is that the insight and knowledge shared in this story by some incredibly accomplished but humble female MBA leaders across top MBA programs will:
- Showcase female leaders from Top MBA Programs, and share why they chose to go school
- Share what Top MBA Programs and their community members (student leaders, faculty, administrators) are doing to create a supportive and inclusive environment for women
- Provide sound advice to female applicants who are thinking about business school
While there is great momentum behind efforts to increase more female MBA students, there is still much more work that needs to be done. If you’re a female and thinking about business school, we hope this piece encourages you to think about what an MBA can do for your career. As these various stories will illustrate, there are some great MBA programs with great female students who are accelerating their careers with an MBA, and they would love nothing more than to do what they can to encourage more women to do the same.
Post 1: How Women at Wharton are Leading from The Front – Ashley Wells, Co-President, Wharton Women in Business
Post 2: Relationships with Female Classmates – Meghan Marie McDonnell (President) and Caitlin Fross (Vice President) Carolina Women In Business
Post 3: The Magic of the MBA in Business School – Kayla Cartwright, President, Darden Graduate Women in Business
Post 4: How the Anderson Community Supports Women – Brittney Sussman, Co-President, Anderson Women’s Business Connection
Post 5: How the Kellogg Community Collaborates to Support Women – Amanda McCarthy, VP Strategic Marketing, Kellogg Women’s Business Association