How B-Schools Are Addressing Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion in the MBA today isn’t just a matter of having more minority students.

It’s much more.

2020 has seen the rise of mass protests as people call for change. In business schools, that call for change is widespread – from enrolling more minority students to overhauling curricula.

Chris Stokel-Walker, of Bloomberg Businessweek, recently looked at what that change looks like across a variety of MBA programs.

MINORITY ENROLLMENT

Traditional metrics of MBA admissions, such as GPAs and exam scores, historically have placed minorities at a disadvantage.

“I think some of the things that universities need to be thinking about when they’re doing their admissions process is the value that candidates bring beyond just those traditional metrics,” Stella Ashaolu, founder and CEO of WeSolv and a USC Marshall Class of 2013 MBA, tells P&Q.

A majority of the top 25 b-schools have shown progress in increasing minority enrollment over the years.

Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business saw the highest proportion of minority MBA students in 2019 with 35%. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania had 34.1%.

Yet, only four schools saw 30% or more.

There’s underrepresentation among MBA campuses. However, Ashaolu says it’s more so an issue of where and how b-schools are recruiting candidates.

“Schools need to go to those channels where more underrepresented candidates are, and provide a lot more education and awareness around the MBA process and the value of their program,” she tells P&Q. “They need to source candidates from more non-traditional pools and pipelines.”

ADDRESSING CURRICULUM

One way that b-schools are attempting to address diversity and inclusion is through the case studies used in MBA curriculum.

“Making those case studies more equitable and highlighting protagonists from a range of backgrounds is one part of decolonizing the curriculum,” Stokel-Walker writes for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Harvard Business Publishing, the supplier of roughly 80% of the world’s case studies, has been working to diversify protagonists in its case studies.

“We understand what we do has an impact on the rest of the educational community,” says Jan Rivkin, co-chair of the anti-racism task force at Harvard Business School, tells Bloomberg Businessweek. “We want students from underrepresented groups to see themselves in the cases.”

At Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, two new courses were introduced this year to address structural racism and diversity in the workplace.

Whether it’s through greater representation among students and faculty or revamping curricula, B-schools know that change is necessary, even if the road to change is long and comprehensive.

“We are on a journey, committed to diversifying all our talent pipelines, which include staff and students as well as faculty,” François Ortalo-Magné, dean of London Business School, tells Bloomberg Businessweek.

Sources: Bloomberg Businessweek, P&Q, Vanderbilt University