WUNRN
By
BETH GARDINER
THE
WALL STREET JOURNAL
2007-11-09
European
M.B.A. programs have been thriving in recent years, but they are struggling
with a problem that long has plagued American business schools too: Women are
staying away in droves.
Theories abound to explain why more women aren't seeking a
credential that could boost their careers and earning power. Some
business-school experts believe European schools struggle even more than M.B.A.
programs in the U.S. to bring the numbers up because many businesses on the
Continent are perceived as less friendly to women executives than American
firms.
Others say it reflects the timing of the European degree, which students
generally seek in their early 30s, a bit older than the U.S. average and a time
when many women are thinking about having children.
Both in Europe and the U.S., some experts cite a perception that M.B.A.
programs are overly macho and too focused on competition, and note that women
are less likely than men to enter sectors where an M.B.A. is highly valued,
such as investment banking and consulting. Some school administrators point out
that while many women relocate when their husbands go to business school --
often moving with children -- fewer men are willing to do so.
Whatever the underlying causes, the result is apparent: Female M.B.A.
enrollment in European business schools is stuck stubbornly between 25% and
30%, said Jeanette Purcell, chief executive of the Association of M.B.A.s, an
international body based in London whose members include about 130 business
schools world-wide. The University of Cambridge's Judge Business School says
the figure is even lower for Europe's elite B-schools, at 23%. In the U.S.,
women's representation in M.B.A. programs long has hovered around 30%.
"Business schools are extremely concerned about the level of participation
by women," Ms. Purcell said. While many M.B.A. programs are changing to
try to draw more women, she predicted progress would remain slow.
At Spain's Instituto de Empresa, which with a 36% female M.B.A. class is one of
the more gender-balanced schools, officials offer scholarships to women, run
electives on issues women are likely to face in the business world and make a
point of teaching with case studies in which females are main players. Helping
women students to tap into alumni networks and connect with mentors in
high-ranking business jobs also is a priority.
Celia de Anca, director of the school's Center for Diversity in Global
Management, said worries about balancing work and family are the biggest
factors keeping female applicants away. Many of today's students, she said,
feel their elders were forced to choose between children and demanding work and
want to avoid such dilemmas themselves by finding jobs that are easier to
balance with responsibilities at home.
Officials at several schools noted that the proportion of women varied widely
among applicants of different nationalities, with the highest numbers often
coming from the U.S. That may reflect that American women have entered and
risen through the business world in greater numbers than their European or
Asian counterparts, they said. "In Europe, there's much more cultural bias
that women have to fight through to say, 'Yes, I want to have a career,' "
said Janet Shaner, a spokeswoman for IMD Business School in Lausanne,
Switzerland.
Labrina Barmpetaki, a student
at Britain's Lancaster University Management School, said many women who
consider M.B.A.s lack the self-confidence needed to leave a secure job and leap
into a degree program. Often their families may not back such decisions,
especially in her native Greece, she said.
Lancaster is one of many schools that have worked hard to shake that image,
shifting from a traditional focus on technical and quantitative teaching to
emphasize "soft skills" that course directors believe play to many
women's strengths. Those abilities, like leadership, communication and team
management, are increasingly prized by employers, they add.
The eight-year-old program at Cambridge's Judge school worked from the start to
appeal to women, trying hard to avoid an atmosphere of ruthless one-upmanship.
This year, its M.B.A. class is 34% female. "We thought what we want to do
is bring collaboration and a sense of community and joint purpose into the
program," said Simon Learmount, admissions director.
One disincentive for women may be the gap that still exists between the
salaries of male and female M.B.A.s, said Ms. Purcell. And some companies may
be less likely to pay for female employees to go back to school, possibly
because they fear the women eventually will stop work to have children, she
said. While business schools are doing everything they can to draw more women,
she doesn't see a significant jump in numbers until conditions improve for
women in the wider business world.
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