For International Women's Day 2025, GMAC has identified five ways that business schools can recruit women to their programs by focusing on what matters most to them as they pursue higher education. 

Though far from monolithic, women can face similar challenges and express common preferences in their consideration of graduate management education (GME). In honor of this year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Accelerate Action,” learn how you can integrate GMAC’s latest data about women in business school into your admissions, marketing, and recruitment strategies.

1. Consider women in your recruitment to degree programs that appeal more (and less) to women.

When it comes to curricular preferences, results from the GMAC Prospective Students Survey reveals that women are more likely to demonstrate interest in courses on developing brands or generating social impact, whereas men tend to prefer classes focused on management or finance. Women also have a greater interest in developing their leadership/change management and international business capabilities in their coursework.

These curricular preferences translate to the types of degrees programs most considered by women. Both men and women most favor the full-time MBA. Over the past five years, women have expressed outsized interest in master’s degrees in accounting, human resources, and marketing, while men and women have demonstrated roughly equal interest in master’s degrees in management, international management, and data analytics. Women and men had similar levels of interest in the Master of Finance in pre-pandemic 2019, but women’s consideration of the degree has declined somewhat since then.

But programs that have historically attracted more women should not be the only ones focused on how they market to them. Programs where women are underrepresented should consider how to position themselves differently to actively reduce their gender gaps.

2. Integrate social impact into how you talk about your program.

Across curricular and career preferences, women have shown greater interest in leveraging their work and graduate management education to make the world a better place.

For instance, 74 percent of women say sustainability is important or very important to their academic experience compared to 64 percent of men. Women are also more likely than men to say equity and well-being are important or very important to their academic experiences.

By elevating how your business school prioritizes social impact and sustainable development, you can stand out to women who are more likely to consider these dimensions in their GME decision-making.   

3. Feature career success stories of alumnae to demonstrate your program’s return on investment.

Anyone applying to business school is expecting to build their skills and advance their careers.

Women and men alike are both most interested in the consulting industry. Consistent with their curricular preferences, women have expressed greater interest in careers in the consumer products, media and communication, and nonprofit sectors, while men are statistically more likely to seek careers in financial services, investment banking, and technology.

Featuring success stories of women with careers in fields of greater interest—and in fields where women may have been underrepresented—may inspire the next generation on their journey of career advancement. 

4. Highlight the benefits of flexible program delivery.

Though in-person and full-time modalities are the top choices among both women and men, women are more likely to consider online, hybrid, and flexible options.

For example, the latest Prospective Students Survey results show that 20 percent of female candidates preferred hybrid program delivery compared to 15 percent of men, and 11 percent of women prefer flexible program delivery compared to eight percent of men.

Broader social and economic structures might give women more personal or familial obligations that they need to balance with their professional responsibilities, which may partially explain why women are more likely to favor flexibility in GME​.  

5. Consider outreach opportunities to achieve gender parity in your classrooms. 

Women have comprised a little over 40 percent of the candidate pipeline over the past decade. According to GMAC’s 2024 Application Trends Survey, the median share of women applying to business school remained flat; however, more than half (55 percent) of programs reported growth in their applications from women, which was 10 percentage points more than in 2023.  

Some programs have aimed to build the number of women in their programs with targeted recruitment events. In fact, 41 percent of programs reported that they conducted special events for women to explore the unique value proposition that business school can offer them—with nearly two-thirds of executive MBA programs and top ranked GME programs conducting events like these in 2024. 

To spread the word about the value of GME and the wide spectrum of offerings available to women, GMAC Tours collaborates with Forté Foundation and business schools to host Spotlight events that feature speakers and programs specifically tailored for women pursuing advanced business education. 

Want to learn more about how to strengthen your pipeline of women candidates? Join our webinar, “Empower, Engage, Enroll,” on Wednesday, March 26, at 11 a.m. ET.