Toward a More Equitable Balance
Executive MBA Program practices prove successful in attracting women
 Women account for about one-quarter of the enrollment in Executive MBA Programs, but programs throughout the world are devising initiatives to move that percentage upward.
What does make a difference to women who are considering the Executive MBA?
A study by JWT Education of more than 100 female MBA and Executive MBA students revealed some factors. The women in the study’s focus groups reported that the politeness of school staff influenced their selection of a program, as did female student ratio, accreditation and credibility, culture, ease of handling the application process, alumni networks, post-degree support, and facilities.
Lisa Grassfield, recruiting and admissions manager of Executive Programs at the University of Denver, completed a qualitative study of the perceptions of women and the barriers that they face as they consider the Executive MBA degree.
“Women are very attracted to the collaborative nature of the cohort Executive MBA structure,” she says. “This is a nice feature to focus on in recruiting efforts – hosting class visits, putting them in touch with alumnae – all serve to showcase the environment of support and collaboration.”
Women also may need more time during the recruiting process to determine how they will manage work, family, and finances during the Executive MBA and may be less likely than men to request tuition assistance from their organization.
“As a recruiter, it’s a mistake to think of the time lag as indecisiveness or lack of commitment,” she says. “We’ve adjusted our recruiting efforts and expectations to recognize that in working with some women, it may be a long-term relationship prior to matriculation.”
Many of the practices of Executive MBA Programs leverage research findings.
Targeted marketing and scholarships
The marketing campaign for the OneMBA Program focused on two decision-making factors of women that appeared in Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) research: financial concerns and the presence of other women in the program.
The OneMBA Program is an alliance of five business schools: Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Business Administration; Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paula in Brazil; Technologico de Monterrery’s Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership in Mexico; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flager Business School; and RSM Erasmus University in the Netherlands.
RSM established two Wall Street Journal Europe Women in Business Scholarships to offer dedicated financial support and also ran the OneMBA Diary by Marieke van der Dong (One MBA2004) in the Dutch business magazine Intermediair six weeks before the graduation of the first OneMBA class.
The diary entries highlighted the juggling act of being a woman, paying respect to all roles: mother, wife, friend, colleague, boss, and student. The diary was an instant success: 16 percent of all current OneMBA applicants cited Intermediair as their first link to RSM, second only the RSM web site.
In addition, applications by women have risen from 22 percent in 2002 to 37 percent in 2003 to 48 percent in 2004; currently there are 32 percent women in the OneMBA Program. The campaign also received a Best Marketing Practice Award 2004 from the Association of MBAs.
Relationship marketing
George Fox University started recruiting efforts last April when the school began its Executive MBA Program and decided to develop a relationship-oriented model for recruiting all its students. The relationship-building approach is attracting women, says Debora Sepich, director of the Executive MBA Program. In addition, 50 percent of professors who teach in the program are women.
“Being present in the community has proven successful,” says Sepich. “Being available to our students is imperative to our success…Long-term involvement with alumni and referrals from the alumni base are always a great source for students.”
In the program’s first cohort, there were 35 percent women; the program hopes to increase the percent to 50 percent for the 2007 cohort.
Centers as resources for women
In April, the London Business School announced a new initiative that focuses on women in business.
The Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business will look at the challenges that businesses face in attracting and retaining talented women and on ways that business schools can better prepare women for top executive jobs.
“The establishment of the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business sends a clear signal that London Business School regards this as a key issue,” says Linden Selby, senior admissions manager for Sloan and Executive MBA Programs at the London Business School. “The centre will support women at every level, from the time they apply to business school through to their careers as team members, entrepreneurs, managers, and senior executives.”
The Executive MBA Program offers two substantial scholarships that cover 50 percent tuition to self-funded women in both September and January cohorts. The program also hosts:
- An event for women
- A student/candidate match service to all students, which in particular pairs women students with alumni who can respond to work/family life balance issues from a female perspective
- Female students as ambassadors
- A brochure that showcases the diversity and impact of women at the school
“All these initiatives have played a part in encouraging women to consider London Business School’s Executive MBA Programs,” says Selby. “The brochure has been very well received.”
The Kellogg Center for Executive Women at Northwestern University provides education, research, and resources for women to achieve top leadership roles in business.
Tools, such as a database of qualified female directors, help the center promote female executives to corporate boards. The center sponsors the Women in Senior Leadership Program, which it developed in collaboration with the Allstate Foundation to help women reach the top levels of corporate leadership. The program brings together experienced business women to enhance skills and broaden their network.
“The Center for Executive Women says we at Kellogg believe so strongly that women should be half the work force and play huge roles in corporations that we are committed to changing the corporate landscape,” says Victoria Husted Medvec, executive director of the center.
Activities for women
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania hosts “women only” receptions for female Executive MBA students at programs in both Philadelphia and San Francisco.
The programs also feature women-oriented topics in e-mail campaigns, asks female students to reach out to applicants, works with a consulting firm that specializes in coaching female executives, participates in Forte Foundation events, and offers the Wharton Women’s Conference as a post-graduation activity.
“Recruiting women has been ongoing for several years,” says Diane Sharp, associate director of marketing and admissions for the Wharton MBA Program for Executives. “But in fall 2005, it was a stronger push than before, and we added our female-focused receptions then.”
Wharton is still determining which activities offer the most significant impact and will continue to require all students to participate in sessions that address the issue of gender with a faculty expert in group dynamics. The school also is planning to find new ways of offering support during the program, she says.
The power of referrals
As the percentage of women in leadership roles has increased during the past five to 10 years, so has the pool of women for Executive MBA Programs, says Joan Coonrod, director of Executive MBA admissions at Emory University.
Referrals and outreach are the most successful approaches, she says, but the program casts a wide net to improve and maintain diversity in classes.
Efforts include speaking to current class members and alumni about increasing the percentage of women and minorities. The program also works with the Executive Women of Goizueta, the Executive MBA alumni group, and seeks media and sponsoring opportunities to attract professional women, as well as advertising and attending conferences and fairs.
It’s important for programs to make the case for women, says Coonrod. An understanding of return on investment and length and format are important factors when women are considering an Executive MBA, as is support from significant others and their workplace, she says.
Active alumni
Despite efforts to increase gender diversity in the Kellogg-Recanati Executive MBA Program in Israel, only 10 to 15 percent of alumni are women.
Last year, a group of Kellogg Recanati female graduates decided to play an active role in increasing the number of women in the program and conducted phone calls to all the female applicants. The number of female students tripled compared to previous years.
This year, a new Kellogg-Recanati women's forum has been established, aimed to increase the number of female applicants and enhance the network for female alumni. The forum is developing several initiatives: A Women’s Club that hosts lectures by leading executive women from the Israeli business world on a quarterly basis; scholarships for women; and mentoring.
Diverse outreach mix
As academic director of the University of Toronto Executive MBA Programs, Beatrix Dart is committed to increasing the percentage of female students.
Disappointed with a percentage of women in the low 20s, the program started its outreach efforts two years ago to female associations and networks and magazines and newspapers and also worked with Catalyst, a non-profit organization that promotes women in business.
“We also created scholarships for women and have now targeted recruiting material for women,” says Dart. Other efforts include an open house for women, and a MBA Essentials program, which allows women and men to sample eight evening sessions of MBA topics. Dart also participates in panel discussions, and the school recently hosted a Women Entrepreneur Conference.
After graduation, female alumni became part of the women alumnae network, which offers many networking opportunities.
The efforts have significantly paid off. The most recent fall class now includes 35 percent women.
The program continues to emphasize outreach, and is even looking at activities to change the perception of business among high school girls, who may view business as male dominated.
“You can’t miss any opportunity to spread the word,” says Dart. “Women need to see role models, and they need to be encouraged that they can do it.”
Executive involvement
Last year, administrators of the Bloch Executive MBA Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City partnered with executives from local companies and asked them to consider sponsoring internal candidates.
"Increasingly, individuals identified by their organizations have been women, as a result of women increasingly emerging as leaders in business," says Karyl Leggio, executive director for the Bloch Executive MBA.
In fact, of the 31 members of the class of 2007, 75 percent of those who were identified by their organizations were women.
Sponsor identification is only one of several approaches that Bloch's program has used to recruit female candidates over the past several years. The program has advertised in women-focused publications, sponsored regional events for women, and provided women-focused continuing education opportunities for students, alumni, and community members.
The number of women enrolled in the program has increased annually from 10 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2002 to 54 percent of the 2007 class as a result of targeted marketing efforts.
The presence of female students aids recruiting efforts, says Leggio.
The Kansas City Business Journal recently featured Laura Thompson, class of 2007 member and division manager for energy services at Burns & McDonnell. "When I worked on my MBA in a part-time program more than five years ago, there were only a handful of women in my class,” says Thompson. “Many issues I considered important were overlooked despite my raised voice. There is, indeed, strength in numbers."
Greater access for women in business
At the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the enrollment of women in the Executive MBA Program has reached 40 percent.
“The main reason, in my opinion, for having as many women in our program is that more women are entering the workforce,” says Ibrahim Tabsh, Executive MBA Program director. That is happening in part because of the government’s promotion of equal opportunities and changes in attitudes, he says.
The rapid economic growth of the country and the need for nationals to fill more senior positions are contributing to an environment that supports an increase in opportunities for women who are interested in business.
“Women’s role in the business world in UAE is increasing rapidly,” he says. “In a society where knowledge and experience are highly valued and rewarded, women are starting to take more senior positions in public and private organizations. Consequently, the Executive MBA Program is likely to prepare many women to take senior positions in their organizations.”
The importance of listening
INSEAD was founded on the values of diversity, so gender diversity was an important consideration when the school started its Executive MBA Program in 2003.
The program conducts focus groups to understand why women apply, promotes women in brochures and on the web site, segments mailings by gender, and offers female candidates the opportunity to talk to female alumni and current female students.
INSEAD also is involved in many organizations that reach women, including the European Professional Women’s Network (EPWN), Catalyst, and the Forte Foundation. EPWN members may take master classes with INSEAD faculty, which exposes women to INSEAD offerings. INSEAD also is developing more scholarship opportunities for women.
Kathleen Sanchez, marketing manager for the INSEAD Executive MBA Program, says listening to women is key. The program’s focus group research identified some key factors that influence women to pursue an Executive MBA at INSEAD, which include timing, proximity to work and home, format, encouragement by director, personal motivation, and brand recognition.
“We can understand their needs better by having more conversations with our current participants, by ensuring that all participants are ‘gender bilingual’ through inclusion in core curriculum…and in general by increasing awareness that gender diversity is a business issue, not a women’s issue,” says Sanchez.
The right messages
With enrollment of female students at 47 percent, the Executive MBA Program at Baylor University in Dallas enjoys a balanced gender mix, one by design.
“We recognized that there were not as many female candidates inquiring and then coming to executive programs in our market and wanted to change this,” says Jana Allen, director of the program. “Our ability to recruit female applicants has been very beneficial to the Baylor Executive MBA Program.”
Candidates responded to the program’s advertising. “We also look for different venues that attract females,” she says. “Our female alumni and current students also seem to make a big difference in our ongoing success.”
The program has partnered with major advertisers to sponsor an event for women. “None of our competitors had ever done an event like this, geared just toward female executives,” says Allen. “We are still receiving candidates who attended that event and are working to launch another one.”
The program provides a high level of support to its students. “One of our strengths and successes is our high level of customer service. This is especially attractive to women. In addition, the other females in the program serve as a source of support.”
The Executive MBA Program can play a role in increasing the gender balance at the top, says Allen.
“Many companies have female executives at the top or on teams within the corporate structure. This is becoming more common today. The Executive MBA venue provides opportunity to instill a higher level of confidence and equips these individuals to take on a higher level role within many organizations.”
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