 |
Working
for women
Fewer
females seek MBAs due to inflexibility
The
School of Business is trying to balance the number of
women and men seeking master of business administration
degrees.
By
Drew Irwin
The
School of Business is trying to balance the number of
men and women in the MBA program through Graduate Women
in Business, a group that helps women deal with issues
they will face in the business world, said Bob Greer,
associate dean for graduate programs and research.
GWIB helps women learn about their possibilities in a
business career. The group holds special receptions, seminars
and luncheons for female graduate students to let women
know what they will face in the professional world.
On campus, alumni and current female MBA students contact
applicants to ease concerns about entering the program,
according to Peggy Conway, director of admissions for
the MBA program.
The Neeley School awarded 43 MBA degrees to women in 2002-03,
while 83 were awarded to men. Seventy-eight more men received
BBA degrees as well.
Greer said the statistics have been constant for years.
One way the Neeley School hopes to balance the numbers
is by spreading awareness, Greer said.
“We try to let women students know about the opportunities
they have here,” Greer said. “We want them to
think about business as a career plan.”
Greer said he has noticed women are more attracted to
master’s degrees in management and marketing. Marketing
was one of two areas where more women received more master’s
degrees than men, according to the 2003 fact book.
More female students are choosing other graduate programs
over the MBA program because businesses offer less flexibility
for working parents, Greer said.
Greer said he thinks women are choosing law and medical
graduate programs because those professions allow women
more freedom to drop to a part-time basis during pregnancy.
“Employers are going to have to see the need to add
flexibility,” Greer said. “There’s not
much we can do about that here, but we can make the companies
aware of the problem.”
Bill Wempe, an associate professor in accounting, said
it would benefit the business school to bring in more
women.
“I think that one of the benefits of receiving an
MBA from the Neeley School is the interaction that occurs
with other students with different undergraduate backgrounds,
different work experiences, and different points of view,”
Wempe said. “In that sense, I think increasing the
number of women in the program would be a positive development.”
A 2000 study, conducted by the business school at the
University of Michigan, found that women “do not
have enough accurate information about business”
to pursue a master’s degree. The study also found
women do not have enough role models in business.
The report led to the creation of the Forte Foundation.
Forte is a consortium of 23 members, including 13 business
schools around the country.
While the Neeley School is not involved in Forte, Greer
said the school is willing to do anything to help attract
more women to business.
“We would love to be involved in anything that gives
our women a chance for more opportunities in the business
world,” Greer said.
The University of Texas at Austin is the only university
in Texas that is a member of Forte. Elissa Ellis, assistant
dean at the Red McCombs School of Business at UT-Austin,
also serves as executive director of the Forte Foundation.
“The most important thing is to support women throughout
the pipeline,” Ellis said. “We want to help
them get where they need to go from whatever level they’re
at.”
Ellis said the foundation helps in three ways. In addition
to scholarships, the schools hold forums every year targeted
at women pursuing an MBA career. This gives them a chance
to meet other female students interested in business.
In addition, seven corporations including Dell Computers
and JP Morgan Chase are members. These businesses offer
internships for women where they can meet successful women
in business. |
|
|
|
|
photo
illustration/Sarah Chacko
|
| |
|
|
