Haas Student Comments on Largest Class of Women Pt. 2

Haas School of Business student Ryann Kopacka, MBA ’16, shares her experience of what it is like to be in a class with 43 percent women. This is part two of a blog series from Haas about the large percentage of women who are attending the school.

Kopacka opens her blog entry by explaining that in her undergraduate engineering program, she was part of a class that was only 30 percent women and she was often the only female in a class and almost always the only female in group projects. She shares how she feels about the change in class dynamics with women now being the majority of students.

Kopacka writes:

“My Haas female peers are more vocal during classroom discussions and are becoming a driving force in the student community, over half of our recently elected cohort representatives are women.

Coming into Haas, I was sometimes uncomfortable sharing my thoughts about controversial topics, especially about gender equality and women in business. However, being among this larger group of women has accelerated my personal development.

I am already more confident speaking up when I would have remained quiet, more assured in sharing my opinion when I would have kept it to myself, and more assertive in seeking leadership opportunities that I otherwise would not have considered. I feel a strong support system building among the women in my class, and I can only imagine how we will continue to grow as we progress through the program.”

The 2014 entering class holds the highest percentage of women in any class at the Haas School of Business. With 43 percent of the class being women, it is the highest percentage of women in one class not only at Haas, but also among its peers. This is a 14 percent increase from the previous class.

You can find part one of the blog series on gender balance at Haas here.

Find more information on class profiles of top-ranked MBA programs in San Francisco from MetroMBA here.

regions: San Francisco

About the Author