The Balancing Act Of Gender Imbalance In Business Education‍

A female student wearing a square academic hat made of one-dollar banknotes, US, 1981.

Often, the conversation about closing the gender gap in education focuses on STEM fields.

Every March, during Women's History Month, there is an opportunity to highlight women's accomplishments toward true gender equality. This period also provides a significant space for reflection on any pressing issues facing women. Gender inequality is still present in many areas, with the most severe examples being in war zones, conflict areas, and poverty-ridden life circumstances in some parts of the world. In addition, the often-hidden suffering in abusive situations within family circles hinders women's ability to fulfill their true potential. As the lower layers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs are addressed in women's lives, access to education and the ultimate pursuit of equal standing at the workplace become one of the main areas where progress needs to be made.

The 2022 Graduate Management Admission Council's findings show that women and men place the same value on pursuing graduate management education to improve career outcomes. However, the gender difference upon graduation shows that men have a 13% higher success rate in owning a business than women at the same degree level.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, women account for 40% of all graduate business program applicants. That percentage appears stagnant or even declining, such as in the case of MBA programs. The surveyed women who are turning away from business education cite a lack of confidence and economic uncertainty in landing favorable careers upon completion.

The 2021 National Center for Education Statistics indicates that women tend to earn more associate and undergraduate degrees; however, most of those were earned in health professions, psychology, biology, biomedical, social science and history, while men earned 53% of the business degrees. Despite the increase of female undergraduate business students since that data aired, the proportional increase in leadership roles in the business arena did not occur. Similarly, while the number of business undergraduate female students is on the rise, leadership representation within business schools is not catching up at a proportional rate.

Pew Research Center's data shows slow progress, with 10.6% of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in 2023, and a bit more favorable stats in higher education, with 32.8% of women as university presidents as of the end of 2022. Amazingly enough, Gender Social Norm Index (GSNI) released by the U.N. Development Report disappointingly shows that despite the progress made in all industry sectors, more than 40% of people worldwide still believe male executives outperform female ones.

In 2022, Leukhina & Smaldone indicated that women outnumber men in colleges, yet men still have more options in pursuing lucrative careers that may not require a college degree.

So, what is the path forward to addressing gender inequities in business education?

Minimize Underrepresentation in Business Leadership Roles

Happy businesswoman 

Men still hold the majority of leadership positions within all business sectors. This may impact women's networking, career advancement, and mentorship opportunities. A Harvard Business Review article by Tolan and Kaplowitz acknowledges the importance of men's involvement in gender equity initiatives. Their 2023 data indicates that most men have a desire to help with advancing women. The simple steps outline some actionable items for men, such as overcoming apathy, addressing the gender imbalance status quo, acknowledging their own fears and ignorance, and creating a workplace that enables success for women and men. Therefore, capitalizing on current leaders' desire to help, organizations must create more mentorship and career progression planning platforms and intentionally narrow the gender gap through professional development and promotional opportunities.

At the business university levels, better representation of women in all layers within the university setting from faculty, leaders, administrators, textbook authors, and curriculum experts are some of the key pillars toward role-modeling and mentorship female business students need to succeed beyond the program itself.

Addressing the Root Causes of the Gender Pay Gap

Gender gap 

The gender pay imbalance is still alive and well; the business field is no exception. The 2023 Pew Research Center analysis by Aragao indicates that the gender pay gap has sadly remained stable in the United States in the last twenty years, with women earning 82% on average of what men earn. In the world of business academia, the situation is remarkably similar, and most female academics earn less than their male counterparts.

Krishna and Orhun's 2020 research in Harvard Business Review pinpointed some root causes of the gender gap stemming from performance in business school's quantitative courses, with women scoring 11% of a standard deviation less than men. This solidifies gender stereotypes of male versus female content preference, which some correlate to future work performance. Krishna and Orhun found that those stereotypes are shattered if women are represented as professors and mentors in quantitative courses, emphasizing the importance of role modeling and representation.

Role-modeling and Representation

The value of role-modeling and female representation when it comes to business education cannot be overstated. A 2022's AACSB article by Niessen-Ruenzi shows that companies with counter-stereotypical female role models are present and have more equal gender balance in leadership positions. In addition, in these settings, the inequity of women's ability to land managerial roles is reduced by 12.4%. Similarly, female students seeing female instructors in some stereotypical male curriculum courses, such as previously described quantitative courses, increase their chances of success within that curriculum. Mentorship at all educational levels by female and male mentors who are experts in the fields of students' pursuit can be a game changer in building future female leaders.

Addressing The Gender Imbalance in Pursuit of Work-life Balance

Women are still the main caretakers and main nurturers within their family circles. As such, this impacts women's ability to excel in many educational roles in business on both ends of the spectrum- as students and as researchers/professors. According to the American Association of University, women represent 44% of tenure-track faculty and 36% of full professors. Inside Higher Ed's 2023 article showcases that female full professors were 19% more likely to leave than their male counterparts, and while workplace climate has been cited as one of the key reasons, the work-life balance still ranks quite high as one of the gender-based departure drivers.

The solution to achieving more gender equity in business education, which leads to a better representation of women in all business sectors, needs to be resolved through several different approaches. Creating a supportive and inclusive environment where all genders can thrive in the educational and business setting is a good starting point. This entails providing women with professional development and mentorship activities, ensuring they have access to powerful role models in home, school, and work setting.

As all genders pursue the ever-fluid concept of work-life balance, the gender imbalance within both the work and life arenas needs to be continuously addressed with intention and strength across all layers of society. Until then, women worldwide will continue to navigate a balancing act within the system of gender imbalance in both settings: life and work.

Sourced from Forbes‍