MBA matriculation is inching closer to gender parity. According to new data released by the Forte Foundation and reported by the Wall Street Journal, women make up 42 percent of 2023 MBA enrollees. This is up slightly from last year’s 41 percent and up significantly from 34 percent in 2013.
Five MBA programs did achieve gender parity: George Washington University’s School of Business, Oxford Said, Johns Hopkins Carey, U Penn Wharton, and Penn State Smeal. An additional 15 programs came close with women making up at least 44 percent of total enrollees. Among this group are some of the world’s most prestigious MBA programs. They include Northwestern Kellogg (48 percent), Stanford GSB (46 percent), MIT Sloan (46 percent), and Harvard Business School (45 percent).
Notably, two of the five programs that achieved gender parity, Oxford Said and Penn State Smeal, are one-year programs. Administrators from both schools told the WSJ that this shorter time commitment appeals to women, particularly those who carry family responsibilities.
Programs with the Highest Percentage of Female Matriculants (Fall 2023):
George Washington University (65 percent)
Oxford University-Saïd (51 percent)
Johns Hopkins University-Carey (51 percent)
University of Pennsylvania-Wharton (50 percent)
Penn State University-Smeal (50 percent)
University of Rochester-Simon (49 percent)
University of Toronto-Rotman (49 percent)
Northwestern University-Kellogg (48 percent)
University of Washington-Foster (47 percent)
Stanford Graduate School of Business (46 percent)
Queen's University-Smith (46 percent)
MIT-Sloan (46 percent)
Duke University-Fuqua (45 percent)
Harvard Business School (45 percent)
Alliance Manchester School of Business (45 percent)
Arizona State University-W. P. Carey (44 percent)
Columbia Business School (44 percent)
Dartmouth-Tuck (44 percent)
ESADE (44 percent)
Michigan State University-Broad (44 percent)