On International Women’s Day, Good News For Women In Biz Ed: Apps Surging Worldwide

Hybrid programs that blend online and in-person learning are especially appealing to women, GMAC has found

International Women’s Day 2025 is March 8. But last fall the Graduate Management Admission Council found ample cause for business schools to celebrate this year.

In its 2024 Application Trends Survey, released last October, GMAC found that while the overall share of female applicants to graduate business programs worldwide has remained steady at around 42% over the past decade, an increasing number of programs — particularly MBA programs — are now reporting growth in applications from women.

Source: GMAC

WOMEN ON THE RISE AT 2/3 OF FULL-TIME MBA PROGRAMS

GMAC’s survey drew on responses from over 1,000 programs at 297 institutions globally. See Poets&Quants‘ earlier coverage of the accompanying report here (BOOM: Applications Skyrocket At The World’s MBA Programs) and here (In Massive Shift, 2024 MBA Applicants Said ‘No’ To The UK, ‘Yes’ To France).

In fact, the growth in applications from women was reported by more than half of the graduate management programs surveyed by GMAC — including 70% of Flexible MBA programs, which historically have greater appeal to women. Moreover, about two-thirds of both full-time two-year and one-year MBA programs have seen their populations of women candidates rise, even though the median percentage continues to trail slightly behind the global average — a “significant opportunity for business schools to refine their recruitment strategies and further support the advancement of women in the field,” GMAC reports.

GMAC further reports that women maintain a strong presence in business master’s programs, comprising nearly two-thirds of the candidate pool in areas such as marketing and about half of all applications in accounting and management programs.

‘A POSITIVE SIGNAL FOR BUSINESS EDUCATION’

The findings comport with the most recent research from the nonprofit Forté Foundation, a nonprofit focused on women’s advancement through access to business education. Close to one-third of the Forté Foundation’s member schools — a record 19 schools — reported women’s enrollment at 45% or higher last year, with an additional four schools close behind at 44%. This compares with 15 schools in 2023, eight in the fall of 2020, and zero schools in the fall of 2014.

In 2024, while the overall percentage remained flat, a record eight B-schools achieved gender parity, or 50% women’s MBA enrollment, up from five schools in 2023. As recently as 2020 there was only one.

“The notable increase in programs reporting growth among female candidates is a positive signal for business education,” says Nalisha Patel, regional director Americas and Europe at GMAC. “This momentum offers business schools a chance to attract even more talent, capitalize on emerging trends, refine their outreach efforts, and create more inclusive environments that will nurture the next generation of female leaders.”

See GMAC’s 2024 Application Trends Survey here.

DON’T MISS IN WOMEN’S MBA ENROLLMENT, ONE SMALL U.S. B-SCHOOL LEADS THEM ALL