Closing the Gender Gap with Three P’s

The Smith School is working on three fronts to close the gender enrollment gap that persists in MBA programs worldwide, vice dean Joyce E.A. Russell said in a recent Maryland Public Television interview.

The initiatives are part of 50/50 by 2020, a Smith pledge made in spring 2015 to deliver results within five years. About 34 percent of Smith MBA students were women at the start of the campaign, which focuses on the following areas:

Pipeline – The school is working with donors to create more scholarships for women. Recruiters are also going into middle schools and high schools to get more youth thinking about business careers.

Programming – Specialized workshops, networking events and club activities support Smith women on campus, while a new Forté Foundation partnership provides additional opportunities. One example was the annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference on June 20, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

Placement – The payoff will come as Smith helps more women MBAs start their careers on corporate leadership tracks. “That’s what we want to do,” Russell said. “We want to get women at those senior levels as quickly as we can.”

For enrollment updates and other details, visit www.rhsmith.umd.edu/women.