Female MBAs: Defying The Odds Of The Downturn

The study analysed data on 873 MBA’s who graduated between 1996 and 2007 from top business schools in Asia, Europe, Canada and the U.S. The result: more than 50 per cent defied the odds and enjoyed career advancements or development opportunities at the same or a different company during the economic slowdown. 22 per cent received a promotion, 23 per cent made a lateral move and 12 per cent achieved both. The respondents were surveyed about their experiences between November 2007 and June 2009, as the economic downturn intensified.

Female MBA’s have fared as well as their male counterparts. Men and women were about as equally likely to be promoted or laid off: amongst men, 36 per cent were promoted and 10 per cent lost jobs; amongst women, 31 per cent were promoted and 12 per cent lost jobs. Catalyst claims the differences are not statistically significant. 

In some regions, though, female MBA’s are having a harder time than men. In Europe, 44 per cent of male respondents have been promoted compared with 26 per cent of women. Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jorden, General Manager of Catalyst Europe AG says the disparity “doesn't seem to be related to the crisis but magnifies an ongoing issue in Europe — the challenge of recruitment, retention and development of women.”

Catalyst also found that women fared less well near the top of organizations. The study shows that 19 per cent of women classified as executives had lost their jobs, compared with only 6 per cent of male executives. The results reflect small samples, though: only 27 women but 131 men, which reflects the relative scarcity of women in those positions. “Our research has shown for a long time that women hold their own in the middle levels,” says Ilene H. Lang, Catalyst's president and CEO. “It's the senior levels where there's a drop-off." She suspects gender-based stereotypes about leadership during tough times and limited access to informal networks and mentors may be partly responsible for the disparity.

The good news is that the study found little support for stereotypes – such as the notion that women are less likely to relocate than men for example. Catalyst said that a roughly equal proportion of men and women relocated domestically or internationally.  Furthermore, even if more women than men took voluntary leaves of absence, (9 per cent versus 3 percent, respectively), 10 per cent of women returned to work from voluntary leave, compared with just 2 per cent of men.

http://catalyst.org/file/305/opportunity_or_setback_final_081209.pdf