Sloan Welcomes Largest Class of Women
MIT Sloan School of Management welcomed the highest ever female percentage of an entering MBA class at MIT Sloan. Sloan’s gender diverse programs and options for women was a factor in some of the women’s decisions to choose Sloan.
There are about 400 incoming MIT Sloan MBA students drawn from across the globe. This year’s MBA class is 40 percent female, up from 33 percent last year, reflecting the school’s effort to attract a more diverse student body.
Gender balance “was not a factor” in her MBA program search, says Alexandra Howitt, 26, of Belmont, Mass., “but I am absolutely thrilled to know that we are making progress toward equal gender balance in MBA programs, which I hope our children will soon take for granted.”
Like their male counterparts, many women chose MIT Sloan for reasons other than diversity.
“My decision factors were the quality of the education, historical performance of graduates, strong recruiting relationships with my target companies, national program ranking, and the culture fit at MIT Sloan,” says Kate Nichols-Smith, a 30-year-old engineer from Walnut Creek, Calif.
Jessica Bixby of Oakland, Calif., who served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua prior to coming to MIT Sloan, said the encouragement of female mentors was a factor in choosing MIT Sloan.
“Sloan’s efforts for gender parity harbinger a changing paradigm and challenges our generation to make women MBAs and business leaders commonplace, as opposed to exceptions,” said Bixby. “Whether a sector is ‘female friendly’ today should be irrelevant in a decade. I will choose a career that fits my skill set and passions and I hope to have many female counterparts. If that is not the case, it is an important challenge to women, and men, to encourage women to enter that space.”
About the Author
Erin Purcell
Staff Writer, covering MetroMBA's news beat for New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
