Encouraging More Women to Pursue MBAs

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business schoolBy Andrea Newell (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

After decades of stagnant female enrollment in graduate business schools, The Financial Times reports that recently the numbers have begun to climb. Female enrollment is currently at an average of 37 percent, up from 33 percent five years ago and 30 percent 10 years ago. And it’s not just a U.S. phenomenon—top European business schools are reporting higher female enrollment as well.

While these numbers are still low, they can be seen as a success – the rise in enrollment follows a decade of serious efforts by non-profits, corporations, and universities to improve gender diversity at the MBA level.

But even still, there is a long way to go. Since an MBA can open many doors in the business world, why aren’t more women pursuing them? What is being done to improve these numbers?

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A New, Sophisticated Take on Personal Finance for Women

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learnvestBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Reading a book about personal finance sounds like the worst thing I’ve ever heard of,” joked Alexa von Tobel, CEO and Founder of LearnVest.com, a website designed to “provide trusted personal finance education in a simple, easy-to-understand manner and help women everywhere take control of their finances.”

Personal finance is a subject von Tobel recognized as crucial a few years ago, as a senior at Harvard University. She had just been accepted to Harvard Business School, and was about to begin a career as a hedge fund trader at Morgan Stanley – and yet, with all of her business education and experience, she says, she had absolutely “no clue” about what to do about her own personal finances.

“Very few schools actually teach the basics of personal finance – which actually affects every day of your life,” she explained. “We want to educate as many women as possible.”

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Inspiration at the Annual Women in the City Awards 2009

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wic-27nov09-532By Jane Lucken (London)

The fall-out of the financial events in 2009 has moved the argument for diversity beyond the HR department and firmly into the boardroom. So the 350 women who attended this year’s Third Annual Women in the City Awards lunch in London on Friday had plenty to debate, from diversity’s role in the reduction of risk to how companies can retain and develop female talent.

The opulent surroundings of the Plaisterers Hall provided a contrasting but welcome backdrop to shared experiences of pay cuts, zero bonuses and canceled Christmas parties. But the overall mood was of celebration and recognition of tangible examples of how individuals can make a difference in professional organisations.

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Are Executive MBAs Worth it?

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By GiGi DeVault (Munich)iStock_000009074834XSmall

Build a better Executive MBA (EMBA) program, and they will come. But who benefits most—university coffers or women executives with newly minted EMBAs? EMBA programs now offer women’s support networks, clubs, and mentoring. Some even offer symposiums on work/life balance. Della Bradshaw from the Financial Times described an EMBA as the “Gucci handbag of the business school world.” Glitter and attract, they must—competition is keen. But have universities really just constructed better mousetraps for snapping up tuition?

The challenges women and men face in business are not identical, and the value they place on their MBA degrees reflect this difference. According to the 2005 MBA Alumni Perspective Survey of 2,209 graduates, including EMBAs, men are more likely than women to rate successful MBA program outcomes in terms of their increased knowledge base and their ability to score an international assignment. Women tend to look at whether they are more respected or gain more recognition at work, and if they experienced an increase in self-confidence.

After graduation, like a professional baseball player returning from spring training, an EMBA may still play the same position and, if things are going well, still be on the same team. But now they are expected to play better.

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Avenues to Advancement: Ms. JD’s 3rd Annual Women in Law Conference

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By Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)iStock_000000689853XSmall

“Roll up your sleeves!”

This is the advice Karen Lockwood, of the Lockwood Group, told the audience at Northwestern University at Ms. JD’s 3rd Annual Women in Law Conference on Friday, November 20th. “Exposing your wrist bone,” she explained, “exudes confidence and makes you look taller.“

The advice was symbolic as the day unfolded. The women ‘rolled up their sleeves’ and participated in intense workshops and break-out sessions. It was the second time Linda Bray Chanow from the Center for Women in Law at University of Texas Law School organized this conference focused on communication, networking and self-promotion.

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The Shape of Things to Come: The FWA’s Economic Forum Inaugural Event

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)iStock_000008946310XSmall

“Most of the conferences I attend are 90 to 95 percent men,” said panelist Beth Ann Bovino, Senior Economist at Standard & Poor’s, to the audience of over a hundred women (and a few men) at the Financial Women’s Association Economic Forum, held on November 16th in New York City. Gina Martin Adams, Equity Strategist at Wells Fargo Securities; Dr. Sherry Cooper, Executive Vice President and Global Economic Strategist at BMO Capital Markets; and Ellen Beeson Zentner, Senior U.S. Macro Economist, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. joined Bovino in sharing their thoughts on the shape of things to come in the recovery from the recent economic melt down.

Vanna Krantz, Chief Financial Officer for the Media Division of Thomson Reuters and moderator for the event, opened the evening with a rundown of this year’s major financial events: the financial collapse, AIG bailout, the government’s acquisition of a majority share in Citi, Bernie Madoff and other recent scandals, the stock market decline, loss of $12 trillion in capital – and her list went on. But Krantz emphasized that, rather than focus on the negative, she wanted to discuss the opportunities arising out of downturn.

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The Boston Club Event: Women Executives in New England’s Fortune 500 Companies

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By Liz O’Donnell (Boston)iStock_000002255927XSmall

Almost a full year has passed since we reported on the number of women executives and directors in Massachusetts’ 100 largest public companies and sadly, not much has changed. The Boston Club, an organization that provides networking and professional support for women in business, just issued its 2009 annual census of women directors and executive officers of Massachusetts public companies. The report is aptly titled, “Building for the Future or Stuck in the Past?” and can be downloaded here.

Women in the Commonwealth still represent just a small percent of directors (11.3%) and executive officers (8.6%). Those numbers show almost no growth in women directors and a loss in the number of women executives. In 2008, the census reported that 9.2 percent of the C-suite at the top public companies was filled by women. In fact, the number of women executives is the lowest it has been since The Boston Club began tracking the data in 2003. And although we reported last year that the percentage of companies with a woman among their most highly compensated officers also fell to its lowest point (24%), it dropped another percentage point this year to 23 percent. Also trending downward is the number of companies with no women at all among the executive officers. Of the 100 companies surveyed, 56 percent have all male executive teams. For women of color the data is even worse. Of the 697 executives across all 100 companies, just two are women of color. And only 1.2 percent, or 10 directorships, are held by women of color.

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Considering More and/or Better Regulation at SIFMA’s Annual Meeting

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)iStock_000000724728XSmall

On Tuesday, October 27, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) held its annual meeting in New York. While speakers covered a range of topics, foremost on the conference agenda was the coming changes in regulation, their potential effects, and whether more and/or better regulation is the right direction for the industry.

“We are by no means out of the woods, and even if we were, it would be irresponsible to forget” past events and the practices that have led to the current economic situation said keynote speaker Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro. Schapiro opened the conference with a strong call for new regulation, and explained its necessity.

The right questions had not been asked in the past, Schapiro said, and the SEC intended to change that. In fact, the SEC now receives hundreds of thousands of tips each year, and the agency is working to develop a new tracking system to better identify promising leads.

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Risk, Rhyme and Success: A Conversation with Sallie Krawcheck

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By Natalie Sabia (New York City)Wall Street

As part of the 2009 Henry Kaufman Financial History & Practices Lecture/Symposia Series, the Museum of American Finance recently held “A Conversation with Sallie Krawcheck.” In front of an audience, Fortune senior editor-at-large, Carol Loomis, caught up with Ms. Krawcheck to discuss the current economy and her new position with Bank of America as Head of Global Wealth and Investment Management.

“We thought that Sallie would be an exciting addition to our Lecture Series,” said Jeanne Baker Driscoll, Director of Development at the Museum of American Finance. “She is a big part of our Women of Wall Street Exhibit, so this was a very timely discussion.”

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6 Perspectives on Women in the Boardroom, Plus 3 Tips for an Effective Board: FTSE 100 Breakfast Panel

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By Jane Lucken (London)iddas-6462[1]

Company boards of directors are under intense scrutiny. Non-executive as well as executive directors hold the weight of company performance on their shoulders. Might more women in senior positions have reduced the impact or even steered us away from the banking crisis? Politicians, as well as media commentators, are weighing in on this debate.

A start to answering the question is to understand the different behaviours that women bring to board level decision-making. Boardroom consultancy IDDAS set out to explore these subtleties through in-depth interviews with 24 women who sit on the boards of FTSE 100 companies and uncovered some interesting insights. They released the results during an executive breakfast at The Ritz in London on October 30th. The quotes below are from interviewees for the study.

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