AMBA & BGA RESEARCH
and 48 per cent of women), meanwhile, are of relatively equal appeal to both men and women. Nurturing STEM career aspirations for women Initiatives aiming to entice more women into STEM careers abound. Yet, the results of AMBA & BGA’s research show that there is also more to be done among business schools to encourage female students to consider careers in these industries and, crucially, convince them that they can thrive once there. Right now, male students are much more interested in pursuing careers in technology, IT and engineering than their female classmates. The tech sector, for example, is of interest to 28 per cent of male students, but only 18 per cent of female students. IT careers interest 25 per cent of men but only 16 per cent of women and, while 21 per cent of men are considering careers in engineering post-graduation, just ve per cent of women feel it is an option for them. The gures for careers in nance and consulting make for more positive reading, in view of the number of initiatives that seek to address the continuing paucity of female leaders in these industries. Consulting and the nancial services are targets for 42 and 27 per cent of female students, respectively, and for 41 and 25 per cent of male students. In addition, female students are more interested in pursuing careers in marketing, pharmaceuticals, PR, healthcare, the third sector and food and beverages, while male students nd careers in energy and
Where we nd common ground between the genders is in the programme basics of business skills’ development (a key interest for 62 per cent of women and 61 per cent of men), networking (a key interest for 59 per cent of women and 56 per cent of men and the acquisition of all-important nance skills (a key interest for 41 per cent of women and 43 per cent of men). Data analytics a harder sell among female students Female students’ greater interest in using business education to enhance their soft skills and broaden their outlook is also re ected in their favoured subjects. When asked which course topics are of most interest within their programmes, female students are more likely than their male counterparts to choose those where the focus is on guiding and interacting with others. For example, people and organisations is a favoured topic for 41 per cent of women, compared to 31 per cent of men, while change management appeals strongly to 42 per cent of women, compared to 37 per cent of men. Male students, on the other hand, show greater interest in many of the more technical, hard skill course topics taught within management education. This includes data analytics (selected by 40 per cent of men vs 29 per cent of women) statistics (25 per cent of men vs 14 per cent of women) and nance (49 per cent of men vs 41 per cent of women). The areas of general management (cited by 53 per cent of men and 51 per cent of women) and global leadership (cited by 46 per cent of men
automotives more attractive. Narrowing the gap We know that when business schools design
programmes that are mindful of the female applicant and student experience, they are often rewarded with an uptick in female enrolment. This article outlines di erences in how male and female students currently experience programmes and what they hope to gain during their studies. A greater appreciation and understanding of these distinctions can only help business schools to further the cause of achieving gender equity in their classrooms. As such, we hope that this tailored report from the AMBA & BGA Student Survey 2023 is informative and useful. For more information on AMBA & BGA’s research projects, visit the BGA website at www.businessgraduatesassociation.com/ about-us/research/ or contact the team at research@amba-bga.com.
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Business Impact ISSUE 4 2023
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