All eight of the business schools were member schools of the Forté Foundation—a nonprofit organization which works to increase opportunities for women through access to business education and leadership development.
Additionally, the Foundation reported that women’s enrollment in full-time MBA programs at its 61 Forté member schools also reached more than 6,000 for the first time.
Forté CEO, Elissa Sangster said: “A rising tide lifts all boats and the same is true for women’s MBA enrollment this year.
“Historically, in an economy with slower hiring, more people head back to school to earn an MBA. Women are typically more risk averse than men about pursuing an MBA—in part because they earn less and have more undergrad student loan debt as a result.
“So, we are heartened to find they are still applying to, and enrolling in, business school despite some headwinds on the diversity, equity and inclusion front along with a slowdown in hiring for white-collar jobs.”
The full list of the eight Forté member schools was: EDHEC Business School, Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School, Northeastern University D'Amore-McKim School of Business, University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management, Duke University The Fuqua School of Business, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, George Washington University School of Business, and Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School.
8 Top Women MBA Programs:
Women's MBA enrollment among top programs
The average proportion of women enrolled in full-time MBA programs at Forté member schools was 42% in 2024—unchanged from 2023. Meanwhile, overall MBA enrollment for men and women climbed 6%.
This is the first time since the height of the pandemic that the proportion of women enrolled in MBA programs has stagnated. However, over the past five years, women’s enrollment in full-time MBA programs has risen by nearly four percentage points, according to Forté’s annual research.
MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Harvard Business School, London Business School, and Oxford Saïd were among an additional list of 11 member schools that reached 45% or more women MBA enrollment in 2024.
M7 business schools, Stanford and Columbia, lagged slightly behind at 44% female representation in class.
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Increasing women MBA enrollment
According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Application Trends Survey 2024, more than half of global business school programs reported application growth from women in 2024. There was also a 12% increase in total applicants to business school programs.
Reflecting on the changes, Sangster said: “Now that we’re at 42%, we have a growing base of women alumni who are advocating for the MBA and encouraging the women in their networks to pursue the degree.”
Alongside MBA scholarships for women and the Forté Fellowship, the listed MBA programs have participated in recruitment events aimed at women, local community events in collaboration with Women in Business or Women’s Leadership conferences, and Forté initiatives such as Forum events and MBALaunch.
“In the classroom, the dialogue between students and faculty is a huge part of the learning experience. For men, it’s important to be exposed to the different perspectives and views their female counterparts have on a business topic or case study. It’s a real opportunity to positively impact gender dynamics and a safe place to learn how to be an ally,” she added.
She highlighted the ongoing challenge for MBA programs to sustain gender parity over time, an that requires a holistic approach.
“Beyond recruitment, MBA programs must address the full student experience. In the classroom, women should be well represented in case studies, she said. “Programs also need to invest in their faculty, with representation at all levels.”
In 2020, the Forté Foundation partnered with The Case for Women and Emerald Publishing to support a case writing competition tailored to the female protagonist. Currently, women comprise 40% of tenure-track faculty at business schools, 26% of full professors, and 30% of deans, according to AACSB.
