New GMAC Survey Explores Women's Interest in MBA Programs

According to a recently released survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the growth in applications from female applicants continues to be strong.

In this year's survey, 65% of full-time MBA programs said application volume from women grow vs. last year, compared to 57% of programs saying this in 2007. That growth was especially strong in several core disciplines, including part-time master's programs in accounting and master's programs in finance.

The gender gap in graduate management education still remains, however. Men outnumbers women by more than two to one in applications to executive MBA programs, and women only represented approximately approximately 30% applications to full-time, part-time programs, and accelerated MBA programs. And while the overall number of full-time MBA applications grew 10% in the past year, the number of applications from women only grew by 8.5%.

Interestingly, while the average number of applications to part-time MBA programs overall was flat vs. last year, the average number of applications to part-time programs from women grew by more than 13%. Now, more than 40% of applications to part-time MBA programs come from women. These self-paced programs are more flexible, which likely drives their appeal for women seeking to get back into the workforce or trying to manage their work/life balance.

Also, many of these programs have been making an increased effort to reach out to women over the past several years. It looks like it's starting to pay off, which we're glad to see!