Women in business: advantages, challenges, and opportunities

Women’s rights are actively being struggled for, and the modern world is going towards the desired balance between men and women. However, the business and management market is still a very musculin sphere. The achievements to raise women’s integration at law schools is noticeable. During the last decades, nearly half of the law and medical studies are women, meanwhile, we still have a very small percentage of females taking MBA degrees. We aim to investigate and argue why and how studies can affect women participation in business.

How MBAs Promote Women in Business

For the last few years, women enrollment in the business was not a common concept. Nevertheless, after the pandemics thousands of women likewise men lost their jobs. Studies show that women took a quick decision to reorganise their life and enrol in MBA programs. They took it as a new opportunity to find a new job and occupied some part of the masculinised business world.

On the other hand, the world needs female leaders with soft but compelling decision-making skills. Some specialists believe that women in business have a positive effect on the whole staff in general. The productivity and organisational skills of women leaders is another attractive element of female character. 

Business schools are offering women-only MBA programs

All the MBA programs are open for women, however, some business schools offer women-only MBA programs. At the first glance, these kinds of programs can cause controversy, but they have a common goal: to create a woman-friendly environment and support female society. The MBA application process is similar to other MBA programs.

Women who take women-only MBA programs have a huge female (and not only) network which can help the students prosper after the degree. Their incorporation into the business market is less stressful knowing that a big support team is there to help and encourage.

Scroll down for some advantages and disadvantages of women-only MBA programs.

  • Support – The main and the most substantial point for the women-only MBA programs is the support and environment where women are. They will be surrounded by other female students and professors who will guide and help them to be self-sufficient business leaders. Women-only programs offer their students something very valuable in common: their gender. 
  • Being a leader – In the women-only programs the focus is only on women and cases or situations discussed or studied can be gender-based which will help women accept and evaluate their opportunities. Women-only studies can push women to become real leaders by discussing and examining situations of other women who failed and who triumphed.

However, not everything is an advantage in the women-only MBA programs. These programs indeed offer big opportunities and support to females, but the network that is created here will lack diversity.

There is also a peril of not being completely prepared for competitive job positions because of the lack of men in the program.

Should you consider a women-only MBA?

If you think about attending an MBA program there are some issues to consider and probably you will need to decide between the women-only and general MBA programs.

If you need a gender-specific supportive study then the answer is yes.

Overall it is a good choice to apply for a general MBA program. Diversity in the classroom being it gender, religion or nationality gives you more chances to succeed and achieve your goals.

Women in business

During the last decade, the participation of women in business has been increasing. More females are involved in the leading positions of many prosperous companies. Thus, which are the advantages of involving women in business. According to the latest data women, entrepreneurs form more than 40% of the US businesses. 

Next to perfect economic and technical knowledge leading a business needs other skills as well. Soft leaders with the capacity of empathy are highly recommended for a successful business. Women englobe these qualities, plus organisation skills and offer huge consumer intuition. And in general mixed gender teams are more productive.

Challenges

Women in business are still struggling with stereotypes and gender discrimination. Women are still marginalised from the leading positions of the business or technology industry. Women themselves do not make an effort to achieve the skills needed to enter these areas as they are sure that their possibilities are diminished.

Surveys show that women accept the salary they are offered without negotiations and when they ask for a salary raise most of them do not get one.

Family-job clash is a part of the life of many women. Nowadays women are still handling most of the childcare and homecare. To balance these duties with the job is challenging.

Opportunities

The business market is changing. Gender diversity is claimed by many successful companies. Female leaders offer balance and productivity. Women have high chances to occupy leading positions and achieve gender equality. Entrepreneurship is a good opportunity for women to form part of the business market.

Studying and achieving enough qualities offer women possibilities to enter the market and rise step by step, become competitive. Many different MBA programs offer new skills in leadership and help to build a real leader with no gender prejudices. Women can access them and to the ones that are women-only focused.

Final thoughts

Women in business consider themselves very happy. Financial stability and self-satisfaction are the clues. These companies led by women are dynamic and capital efficient.

Inclusion, diversification, gender equality and similar expressions are very popular in the 21st century. The enrollment of women in the masculine trades is becoming more and more popular. The business market is opting for diversification and women form an important part of this new change. A good formation like MBA degrees can open wide opportunities for women as business leaders and entrepreneurs. 

 If all the points mentioned in this article made you think about taking some courses or applying for an MBA degree to add more practice and knowledge to your proficiency, then you are making big steps towards becoming a leader or running your own business. Women are facing challenges in their studies and jobs. Nevertheless, today women have more opportunities than ever to achieve leadership and enter the world of business.

Do not mislead your chances, take advantage of studying and succeeding!