Outlook of Women in B-School in 2024
Women’s enrollment in full-time MBA programs has surpassed 6,000 at Forté Foundation’s 61-member business schools for the first time. Even more impressive, eight schools have reached gender parity in their MBA cohorts—a new record. This milestone marks a significant leap forward toward equal representation in business leadership.
Forté Champions Women in B-School
Forté Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing women’s leadership opportunities through business education, has been at the forefront of this movement. Since its inception in 2002, when women represented just 28% of MBA students, Forté has championed initiatives to close the gender gap. Today, the percentage of women enrolled at Forté member schools stands at 42%, holding steady from last year.
These member schools include some of the world’s most prestigious MBA programs, such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, and MIT Sloan. Notably, the M7 business schools—Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Booth, and Columbia—are making significant strides to boost women’s enrollment and foster inclusive leadership development.
Curious about your chances of getting into a top b-school? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
The Climb to Gender Parity
Among the key highlights of Forté’s 2024 research regarding women in B-school:
- Record Enrollment: Over 6,000 women are now pursuing MBAs at Forté schools. This represents a 13% increase in enrollment at long-standing member schools since 2020.
- Gender Parity Milestones: Eight schools, including Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, achieved gender parity.
- M7 Momentum: Harvard Business School reports women’s enrollment at 45%, and Columbia Business School, Stanford, and Wharton are in the ballpark at between 44%-47%.
- Leadership Potential: A remarkable 41% of women CEOs in the S&P 500 hold MBAs, emphasizing the degree’s role in shaping corporate leadership.
Elissa Sangster, CEO of Forté Foundation, expressed optimism despite economic headwinds. “Women are still applying to and enrolling in business schools, which reflects their resilience and commitment to leadership,” she said.
“A rising tide lifts all boats and the same is true for women’s MBA enrollment this year.” —Forté CEO Elissa Sangster
Forté’s Impactful Initiatives
Forté’s programs have been instrumental in encouraging women to pursue MBAs. Highlights include:
- Scholarships: Nearly $475 million in scholarships awarded to Forté Fellows since 2003.
- Networking Opportunities: Conferences such as the Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference connect aspiring leaders with top companies and schools.
- Pre-MBA Programs: Initiatives like MBALaunch and MBA Takeoff provide resources to prepare women for the MBA journey.
- Diversity Advocacy: Events like Diversity Day support underrepresented groups in navigating the MBA application process.
Achieving gender parity in MBA programs is more than a win for women—it’s a win for business. Research consistently shows that diverse leadership teams drive innovation, improve decision-making, and boost financial performance. Schools and organizations like Forté are laying the foundation for more equitable and dynamic workplaces by supporting women in earning MBAs.
For aspiring female business leaders considering an MBA, now is the time to seize the opportunity. As women continue to break barriers in business education, the future looks brighter than ever.
Explore how Forté Foundation and its member schools are paving the way for gender parity in business leadership by visiting fortefoundation.org.
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Are you a woman interested in pursuing a graduate management education? Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs! From our All-In Partnership to interview prep, essay editing, resume review, and much more, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
