Kate Schwartz
Staff Writer
Almost 40 years after the legal and personal struggles for gender equality, women still struggle with educational and professional equality in terms of receiving an MBA, according to Linda A. Livingstone, dean of Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business Management.
Past trends have shown that almost twice the amount of men choose to go back to school for their MBA than women, according to Livingstone.
“Because most MBA programs require three or more years of work experience, the MBA can conflict with some important life decisions that women and men face,” Livingstone wrote in an e-mail. “This can negatively impact women’s willingness to go back to school at that point.”
The suggested track to getting an MBA collides with many young women’s plans to start a family. While it is possible to seek an MBA directly out of undergraduate studies, that means finding another $80,000 without any previous work — not exactly an easy task.
Kristine Davis, who is in her second year at GSBM, says that she hardly notices a difference between male and female enrollment.
“[The number of women] is one of the reasons I chose Pepperdine over a school like USC,” Davis said. “Usually the ratio is 70 to 30 or 80 to 20.”
Livingstone also said the perception of a “glass ceiling” among women in the workforce discourages them from pursuing an MBA, thinking there is only so much women can achieve in the business world.
Junior Fabiola Ordonez said she notices the “glass ceiling” as an undergraduate, which is one of the factors discouraging her from pursuing an MBA.
“There are a lot more guys than girls in my classes,” Ordonez said. “I think I’m going to go to law school instead [of business school].”
Professors and students said GSBM is taking different approaches at marketing an MBA to discouraged women. According to the statistics, it’s working.
As the first female dean of GSBM, Livingstone said she has seen the female enrollment at GSBM grow higher than the national average, which is 37 percent according to the Graduate Management Admission Council.
“Our fully-employed MBA program has approximately 40 percent female enrollment, and our full-time program female enrollment tends to range between about 35 and 45 percent, depending on the year,” Livingstone said.
Dr. David Smith, professor at GSBM, attributed the rising number of enrolled females in to its “holistic approach” at studying for an MBA. This includes flexible class schedules and online class options.
“I believe that [holistic] focus is attractive to working women, and women more generally,” Smith wrote in an e-mail.
Livingstone wrote an article written for University Business Management Magazine in 2007 called “A Call to Action.” It is about the male to female ratio in business schools.
“Our part-time program’s two mornings per week schedule helps with childcare responsibilities,” Livingstone wrote in her article. “We’ve found it also appeals to those working odd shifts in the healthcare profession, which is dominated by women.”
GSBM is not the only school taking steps to increase the interest of women in MBA programs. Indiana University recently created the “Mommy MBA,” a program in which women can customize courses and schedules to be more personally convenient.
The five-year MBA program at Seaver College, which is about to start its first full year in January, also provides alternative ways to pursue the degree.
Senior Kris Riklis, who is enrolled in the program, hardly notices a prominence of male students.
“I think the women are more involved actually,” said Riklis. “They take the MBA more seriously.”
Livingstone thinks that programs like the five-year program will benefit business schools and the students enrolled in them.
“By taking a broader view of the mission of business school and offering flexible learning options, I believe MBA programs can attract a broader array of students, including women,” Livingstone wrote in her article. “And to me, fostering a more diverse pool of talent is simply good business.”
09-25-2008