Two years ago, Harvard Business School undertook an experiment that has been the talk of the MBA community since it was profiled in the New York Times on Saturday. For years, female students had arrived at HBS with the same undergraduate grades and test scores as their male counterparts, only to fall behind in their business classes. The school had also had trouble retaining female faculty members, and eighty percent of the tenured faculty members were male. Administrators at Harvard Business School tested a series of reforms for the Class of 2013 to combat the problem, and managed to close the gap between male and female achievement.
Women and men did just as well on tests at Harvard, but women lagged behind male students in class participation. Class participation accounts for 50% of a grade in a number of courses at HBS, and of course this can be subjective. To make it a more objective metric, Harvard provided a stenographer for each class so that the professor could have a record of what each student had said in the class and how much each student spoke. The school also reduced the use of case studies in classes, replacing them with a new required course with students working together to solve problems. Finally, the school provided software that allowed professors to compare their grading trends by gender.
The HBS program was highly successful. Harvard Business School students, professors, and administrators asserted that more women were participating in groups and winning academic awards as a result of the changes. The percentage of women in the top 5% of the class at HBS increased dramatically.
The New York Times article about HBS’s gender equity work has provoked a lot of discussion amongst MBAs. Do women have a harder time in business school, and if so why? What can be done to make business schools a friendlier environment for women if necessary? Harvard MBA students responded to the New York Times article by arguing that class divisions also play a significant role in defining the experiences of different Harvard students.
Harvard deans say that their ultimate goal is to remake business education to reduce gender biases in the business world. However, some MBAs suggested on the New York Times page that an easier environment for women in business school would leave them unprepared to grapple with problems with sexism they may encounter in the business world.
HBS’ reforms have encouraged debate in the business world, but the larger results of this experiment have yet to be seen. The Deans of HBS plan to continue their gender equity work but they have not revealed what specific measures they will keep or add. Other business schools may implement similar reforms after seeing the positive outcomes at Harvard.