Article
The St. Petersburg Times, 27 Ôĺâđŕë˙ 2010
Gender Divide in Business Education
Female students at local business schools currently account for about 25 percent of total numbers. Although women perform the same jobs as men and number among the students of business schools, statistics show gender-differentiated trends.
According to research conducted by the Begin Group several years ago, of the students enrolled on MBA courses in Russia, 65 percent were men and 35 percent women. The ratio is currently about the same.
The last group enrolled at the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSOM) in December last year consisted of 35 percent women. In five previous groups during the last two years, female students accounted for an average of 27 percent. Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School's St. Petersburg campus saw a record year for its Executive MBA program in 2007, when the number of women reached 45 percent. Since then, the proportion has decreased to 20 to 25 percent. Although in theory men and women have equal opportunities of getting a business education, there are factors that obstruct female students.
«The accepted opinion in society about the traditional role of women being limited by their home and family — or, on the contrary, the image of the emancipated woman — can have a negative influence on women obtaining a business education,» said Yelena Kornyshkova, executive director of master's programs at GSOM.
An opinion exists that women are less suited to management roles than men. But stereotypes are not the only reason for lower female student numbers. Women sometimes have different priorities to men, putting their family life before their career.
«The average age of students on the programs is 32 to 33 years old — the age when most women are focusing on their personal life and having children,» said Anastasiya Korshunova, deputy director for international business development at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
«Most women studying for an MBA degree are under 30 or over 40. Many women try to combine studying with maternity leave,» she added.
Children are a major limiting factor for women seeking to obtain a business education — young mothers are a rarity on MBA programs. Gender trends can also be identified in students' choice of educational program.
«First of all, women are interested in a convenient schedule,» said Korshunova.
«Usually, the most attractive program is one with free weekends and one that does not require long trips away.»
Experts also identify gender trends among students already enrolled on programs.
«Women do not want to be leaders,» said Nadezhda Golenishcheva, marketing director of the Open Business School.
«They consciously choose another role. They don't want to be responsible for others, because they already have too much responsibility in their personal life».
«Women are most successful in accounting or marketing — fields in which decisions are made on the basis of figures,» she continued.
«Female students often show an interest in marketing, finance and management of technology innovations, especially if their first degree was connected to IT, math or physics,» said GSOM's Kornyshkova.
Women often earn less than men, and not necessarily as a result of salary discrimination. Even women with MBAs often work in fields that are traditionally lower paid. Yet notions of «male» and «female» jobs persist.
«All of us, in forging a career, are unintentionally susceptible to the influence of these ideas,» said Nikolai Shalayev, director of ANCOR St. Petersburg office. «It is considered that men are most suited to making a career and increasing profits while women are mostly focused on stability and the development of their professional competence, with less accent on their career.»
«As a result, both the choice of occupation and future income are determined by the opportunities of building a career in this or that field. Yet nowadays, the notion of „male“ and „female“ jobs is gradually being eroded,» he added.
Differences between male and female students can be observed in the way that different genders approach the same problems. The Open Business School once organized two similar residential schools. One of the groups consisted mostly of men, and the other of women. The way the students solved the same problem was quite different.
«The men held an heated debate, while the women tried not to turn the situation into a conflict. They discussed everything as diplomatically as possible,» said Golenishcheva.
The crisis has also highlighted gender differences in business education. Open Business School specialists note an increasing number of female students who have found the opportunity to study in difficult times, while men prefer to solve problems and postpone their education in such a situation.
«The motivation for business education is the same for everyone. Their first priority is personal development in order to manage the company more effectively, and then comes career growth,» said Golenishcheva.
Foreign business schools try to attract women with special grants, but Russian schools do not offer any gender benefits. The schools that do so often do so out of rating considerations, as student diversity is a factor that adds points to the reputation of the school.
«There is no sense in [offering grants for female students] in Russia,» said Golenishcheva.
«We still cannot say that we have a business school market. Each establishment has its own niche and it is impossible to compare them, and ratings can exist only where there are similar products. That's why Russian business schools do not offer any special incentives for women.»
Although the interest of women in business education is increasing now, lower proportions of female students are standard on business education programs all over the world, confirming the idea of management as a male domain. Yet this is not due to gender discrimination, but rather an inevitable result of women's roles in the family and in society.