'Our goal is to be the school of choice for women'
Glass barriers under attack
At the Business School

By Katie Williams

The Center for the Education of Women (CEW) and the U-M Business School have a history of collaboration. They first partnered in 1993 on a CEW survey of student satisfaction of woman and men in the MBA program and continued to collaborate to create specific programs for female students and alumnae focused on climate issues and leadership development.

Recently, CEW and the U-M Business School have partnered with Catalyst, Inc. (the nations' premier nonprofit research and advocacy organization for women in business) on a new national MBA study. The study grew out concern about the plateauing of women's enrollments in top-ranked business schools throughout the nation, including Michigan. While other professional schools, such as medicine and law, have enrolled steadily rising numbers of female students, now reaching around 45 percent of their student populations, the figure at leading business schools has averaged around 30 percent.

Jeanne Wilt, assistant dean for admissions and career development at the Business School, and Carol Hollenshead, director of CEW, are working with Catalyst on this study to start learning some answers to the big questions: What do women themselves say about the environment of MBA programs and what clues can their first-hand experience provide as to what will attract more women? Why has female enrollment stagnated? And how can Michigan attract more women to the business field?

"This is the first national survey of the graduates of top-ranked MBA programs," Hollenshead says. "With over 1,600 respondents we have a rich body of data about women and men's experiences in business schools and in the business world. We hope the study will spark new efforts to recruit and retain more women."

"Our goal," Wilt says, "is to have the Michigan Business School be the school of choice for women in business. Relatively low numbers of women in business schools means the schools-and the companies who recruit our students—are missing out on a big portion of the talent pool."

According to Wilt, there's no shortage of compelling observations about where the problems might lie. She explains that the corporate world is still erecting the infamous "glass ceilings" that keep women from receiving top-level positions. Many corporations also construct what she calls "glass walls," wherein a woman "has difficulty networking horizontally when her male co-workers bond over stereotypical male activities, like golf."

Another factor, Wilt says, is that many women feel as if they must choose between raising a family and working harder on their careers, especially since most companies require long hours of work, which reduces time for family life. Wilt also cited the preponderance of male faculty and students in business schools and the majority of male co-workers and administrators in the professional world as perhaps sending a silent, subtle message to some women that they aren't welcome or wouldn't be comfortable in business.

On the other hand, two female MBA students, Rhonda Miller and Meg Hunter, expressed no feelings of discomfort or disadvantage based on their sex. Of course these are two women with the tenacity and desire to have enrolled in the school despite the 70 percent male majority.

"I wouldn't say I was intimidated by the lack of women," Miller says. "I would say more that I was surprised. I did, however, stay away from schools where the enrollment of women was very low–20 percent."

Is it different being one of the few women, though? Does she ever feel at a disadvantage? "Initially guys might not accept what you have to say, especially in traditionally male-oriented fields," she says without a trace of anger. When I raise my eyebrows in concern, she tells me simply that she lets them know, "If you're not going to listen to me, I'll bring more information to the table."

I asked about the lack of female professors, and Miller nods solemnly. "If a woman professor is standing in front of the classroom, she has to work that much harder to establish her credibility. It's something as simple as, we walk into the classroom and see a woman standing up there, and we don't think she's the professor."

Meg Hunter also notices the lack of women in her programs–in fact she is on a committee to make the program "more friendly" to students with children–but her outlook is strongly optimistic.

"The business field is already noticing that work/family balance is important," Hunter says, "and I think that's a direct hit from having more women in the field." Then she explains the concepts of flex-time (nontraditional hours for employees with family commitments) and job-sharing (two employees both work part time in the same position) as attractive options for working parents.

As for the student parents at Michigan, Hunter emphasizes that having to take care of a child is "a big deal." She and her committee are trying, among other things, to create a support group for MBA mothers and a list of affordable local day care providers.

Both Hunter and Miller think women are valuable to the business field. "They bring a new perspective to the table," Hunter says. "Generally, and there are always exceptions to the rule, women are more concerned with the ethical and moral implications of a business project," Miller adds.

The obvious respect Miller, Hunter and Wilt all shared for women in the Michigan business program was striking. "There are so many women in leadership positions in our MBA program," Hunter says with a smile. "I think that really says something about how ambitious the women in our program are."

Hollenshead notes that she "has no doubt that there are many more talented women out there and who with additional outreach could be recruited to top schools such as Michigan. This can only benefit the business community."