Women At The Leading U.S. & Global MBA Programs: Why The Numbers Keep Rising

Elissa Sangster has led the Forté Foundation from its start 20 years ago, when it was an organization with 12 school members, to now, when it includes 56 top MBA programs in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, as well as 33 executive and professional MBA programs, 63 undergrad schools, and 67 corporate partners. The nonprofit reached close to 200,000 women in 2022, up from 87,000 in 2016.

“It’s exciting and gratifying to see the impact of our efforts over the last two decades to close the gender parity gap in MBA programs,” Sangster says. “More women today understand the opportunities an MBA offers and our work has helped build the pipeline of young women interested in business careers and advancing to leadership.”

The 17 Forté member schools that reached above 45% women’s enrollment in full-time MBA programs in 2022 are:

• John Hopkins University (Carey School of Business) – 52%
• University of Pennsylvania (The Wharton School) – 50%
• Southern Methodist University (Cox School of Business) – 48%
• Duke University (The Fuqua School of Business) – 48%
• Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management) – 48%
• Oxford University (Saïd Business School) – 48%
• Washington University in St. Louis (Olin School of Business) – 47%
• University of Cambridge (Judge Business School) – 47%
• George Washington University (School of Business) – 47%
• University of California – Berkeley (Haas School of Business) – 46%
• Harvard Business School – 46%
• University of Southern California (Marshall School of Business) – 46%
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Sloan School of Management) – 46%
• New York University (Stern School of Business) – 45%
• Alliance Manchester School of Business – 45%
• Dartmouth College (Tuck School of Business) – 45%
• Columbia University (Columbia Business School) – 45%

“We can’t rest on our laurels,” Sangster says. “Every percentage gain in women’s enrollment is hard won, much like the struggle to increase women in the C-suite and on boards. Forté will continue to support women in business for as long as it takes to achieve parity in the workplace, in corner offices and in corporate boardrooms.”

Among Forté’s initiatives that have helped bring about that change are the following:

• Forté Fellows scholarships: Between 2003 and fall 2022, Forté partner schools awarded approximately $400 million in scholarships.
• Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference: Attended by women MBAs and top companies annually, it took place in June 2022 in-person and October virtually with over 1,000 participants.
• Forté Undergraduate Campus to Business Leadership Conference, College Fast Track to Finance Conference, the Undergraduate Leadership Summit and Candid Conversations for Women of Color have provided opportunities for thousands of college women to build leadership skills, explore career paths, and network with top Forté partner companies and business schools.
• In 2022, Forté introduced three new initiatives for MBA students and post-MBA women: MBA Takeoff, a hybrid learning experience that combines Franklin Covey’s award-winning leadership content and Forté’s MBA and gender expertise to prepare women for their first year as an MBA student; Career Strategist, a 12-week development program for women in their early career; and Rise, a new three-month professional development pilot program that provides peer support, advice, and coaching to help women five to 10 years post-MBA.
• In 2022, Forté also updated its Allyship portfolio to include free toolkits for starting allyship groupson MBA Campuses and in the workplace. (Visit these links to request corporate and MBA toolkits.)