Breaking The Glass Ceiling: Taking More Than Just An MBA Degree

Clad in my mother’s 36-year-old saree, I walked towards London Business School’s graduation stage with a beaming smile and a heart pounding with pride. Those ten steps toward the dean felt like the culmination of a decade-long journey: from a small town to a global stage, from doubt to determination, from invisibility to impact. As I looked up to find my family in the crowd, I see my mother acknowledging the fact that I had finally done it. That moment wasn’t just the end of a degree. It was a tribute. A tribute to the women who dared. To the ones who couldn’t. And to the generations yet to come who would now find it just a little easier to dream.

This final reflection is not about textbooks, grades, or job offers. It’s about the real curriculum of an international MBA program. These are the lessons that don’t show up in a course catalog. If you think an MBA is only about academic enlightenment, let me tell you: there is so much more. So let me take you through the true education I received at LBS.

DIVERSITY IS NOT JUST A GOOD-TO-HAVE METRIC

When I read the stats – 67 nationalities in one class – during orientation, I didn’t realize that it was going to be one the key themes around which my MBA learning would revolve. It’s the Air Force pilot who challenges your view on leadership under pressure; the African entrepreneur who teaches you how to develop products from the heart; and the Japanese classmate who makes you realize the importance of being five minutes early for a meeting because punctuality is a sign of respect. The list is endless.

In one of my final classes at LBS, we were asked to pitch ideas to solve a problem in the FinTech space. One could see the role diversity plays in ideation as each of the 10 groups took the stage. One team was solving gaps in remortgaging housing loans in Australia; another proposed a solution to increase participation in equity markets in Europe. My team focused on building a platform to empower home makers through community-based savings and micro-financing.

If you do the MBA correctly, you can learn by listening, debating fiercely, and engaging with diverse sets of people.

LEADERS CREATE PATH FOR OTHERS

Growing up in a small town, I didn’t see many professional role models. Words like networking and mentorship continued to be alien concepts back in Rewa, the city where I come from. I didn’t have a roadmap – not for a career, and certainly not for the MBA. When I drew my roadmap, I was determined to ensure others wouldn’t have to do the same alone.

The two years’ journey at LBS provides ample time for students to be the mentor they wish they once had. A student can experience LBS’s fundraising campaign motto “Forever Forward” in many ways. They can serve underserved communities in Zambia and India through the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development. They can participate in mentorship programs. They can also respond to cold message requests from curious students. I have been both a beneficiary and contributor to this cycle, and it has been one of the most meaningful aspects of my MBA.

My friend, Navid Eskandar, exemplified this spirit. Through his experience as the founder of a career coaching platform, he provided many LBS students with resume feedback and coaching, often helping them land their dream jobs. Drawing inspiration from my own journey and people like Navid, I have stepped into a new role of mentorship lead in the Laidlaw Women in Business Board. Through my work, I want to create a space for organic mentorship where it is ok to not know, to ask, and to rise.

Every year, LBS recognizes roughly 30 students across the graduating class (1,600+ students) with student awards for their contribution to improving campus life and creating an impact. For me, one of the most humbling moments of this journey was being honored with the Social Impact Award for my initiatives through the FLII Club (First-Gen, Low or Intermediate Income). Even though social mobility is an invisible form of diversity, I helped create dialogues on inclusive culture on campus through driving Speak Out Week, the annual open table discussion event on campus, and raising policy recommendations such as improving on-campus facilities to drive inclusion. Throughout this journey, I learnt leadership isn’t about walking ahead, it is about walking alongside.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND NOT JUST NETWORKS

Many students come to the MBA with an expansive strategy for networking. But the two years have taught me that the only metric that matters is connection. Some of the most pivotal moments of the MBA didn’t happen on LinkedIn. They happened over coffee chats, group projects that went off-script, or late-night walks where we dropped the facade and spoke as humans.

One such moment was with my classmate, Sabrina Yegela, founder of Tanzania’s first plant-based social enterprise. A simple chat about dietary choices turned into an exchange of deeper stories about transforming lowest moments in your life into your strength, finding courage to start an enterprise as a woman founder, and choosing values over profit. Our chat not only gave me a perspective on social entrepreneurship, but also sparked a friendship grounded in honesty and mutual respect.

Through Sabrina, and others like her, I have found friends who have stood for me when I didn’t expect them to, called me out when I was wrong, challenged my thoughts, and lifted me up on gloomy days.

YOUR UNIQUENESS IS YOUR STRENGTH BECAUSE IT DIFFERENTIATES YOU

There were times during the MBA when imposter syndrome crept in. When I looked around and saw polished accents, brand-name firms, and generational privilege, I felt like I was an anomaly. But what I realized over time is this: my background is not my weakness, it’s my strength. I bring something unique to the table because being the first in many spaces taught me grit before I knew how to spell it. It taught me resourcefulness, diplomacy and, above all, empathy in ways no leadership course every could.

In the MBA, I realized very soon that many of us didn’t come from legacy, but we came here to build one. So, when you join the MBA, don’t think only about jobs or networking. Think of the legacy that you leave behind.

MY PEN FINALLY RESTS AS I GRADUATE WITH NOTHING BUT GRATITUDE

That saree I wore on graduation day? It has borne witness to so many things. Years of sacrifice, delayed dreams, and silent strength. It had been worn by a woman who chose family over ambition, silence over spotlight. And now it soared on a global stage.

To everyone reading this, especially those who feel invisible in spaces that were never designed for you, I want you to know this:

The glass ceiling only looks clear until someone crashes through it. Then it becomes a window. And sometimes, it’s even a door.

How do I know this? Because I walked through one that day.

Divya is an MBA 2025 at London Business School and a Laidlaw Scholar. She is an accomplished data analytics professional with 8+ years of work experience, including 4 years at Google. She is one of the first people in her city and the first person in her family to pursue an education abroad. She strongly believes in equity and advocates for DEI at college and work. To know more, check her LinkedIn profile here.

DON’T MISS: BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING: EXPLORING THE WORLD, ONE EXPERIENCE AT A TIME

 

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