For years the MBA scene has been very much male-dominated. It still is, but more women are showing interest in MBA courses and their career options than ever before.
This trend has been building up in recent years with observers commenting on how many more women they see on campus grounds as well as in high positions at the business schools. One of those successful women is Alison Davis-Blake who was just recently announced the first female dean at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business (effective Aug. 22).
Two surveys also support the observation that more women are interested in the Master of Business Administration these days. The QS TopMBA.com Applicant Survey shows that 48 per cent of participants at the QS World MBA Tour in 2010 were women. This is a record number for the tour that organises fairs for prospective MBA students around the world. The trend is also confirmed by the GMAC Alumni Perspectives Survey 2010. According to this recent survey more than 100,000 or 40 per cent of the total people who took the GMAT (General Management Admissions Test) were women.
Zoya Zaitseva, manager of the QS World MBA Tour, says: "For the first time ever there are some countries where the proportion of women was over 50 per cent, and we're looking into why that might be."
One reason for the increasing number of female students is the growing support from business schools. Some business schools are actively promoting their courses with high-profile business women and have also increased the number of gender-specific scholarships.
Sources:
http://www.metro.us/newyork/life/article/776966--mba-is-no-longer-just-for-the-men
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5c7b7592-307c-11e0-9de3-00144feabdc0.html
