Gender Bias in MBA Admissions

[The River Card]

Two points:

1. Except for feminist females, everyone agrees that there is gender bias when it comes to MBA (selection or placements)
2. Being a guy, you are almost fine or happy to an extent with this gender bias, if and only if you are not at the receiving end.

[the_egonomist]

Originally Posted by The River Card

Two points:

1. Except for feminist females, everyone agrees that there is gender bias when it comes to MBA (selection or placements)
2. Being a guy, you are almost fine or happy to an extent with this gender bias, if and only if you are not at the receiving end.

Bias is always understood better when its personal.

My take has always been that women who are literate should use the opportunity to the fullest. Education doesnt come cheap and we also tend to lose out on a real potent workforce.

And gender bias has always been there - its not the colleges its the society.

And for the record XIME has almost 45% girls in a batch. So said the principal.

Cheers.

[alagati]

Well, do we mean gender bias towards women ??!!

Hmm...if thats what this is about, then to an extent, I think its valid...because we all agree that in certain fields, women perform much better than men...e.g places where u need to handle with empathy and sensitivity...women are much more adept than men..!!

I do not want to generalise, as I realise some men too could have these attributes and some women maybe lacking in it...but what Im talking abt is percentages..!!

I think its very refreshing to see more n more women in B schools and hence corporate boardrooms as they bring a different perspective to the discussion table..!!

The only unfortunate thing thats happening which I have noticed in my personal exp, is that women are trying to be more "manly" in their decision-making so that they get accepted by the other board members and not ridiculed by them by saying " Ohh...gawd..whats a woman doing here ??!!"

I think women should stick to what they know best....their intuition..and the world would be a better place to live..!!

Cheers,
Varun

[feelnishant]

Gender Bias is not at all fair as far as admission is concerned.. it should be totally on merit... Yeah may be during placement company can give preferences according to the job profile.

I have heard that few colleges like SCMHRD give preference to ladies aspirants and this policy break hopes of many male fellas.(MODS, do let me know if the last statement follows the PG policy...m not spreading rumour abt SCMHRD but its what i have heard)...

While during placement, there are various profile in picture and few of them are meant for ladies to hold on to it... and thus its totally fair to be biased there... but not during admission...

Nishant

[pendyal]

Originally Posted by alagati

I think its very refreshing to see more n more women in B schools and hence corporate boardrooms as they bring a different perspective to the discussion table..!!


Cheers,
Varun

more women in B-skools, colleges and at work place doesnt translate to more women in managerial positions or the board of directors. it is a known fact that (at least at present), women face a kind of glass ceiling in their careers where they are not allowed to rise beyond a certain level (there will always be exceptions to the rule....so please dont point those out)..... i havent had much experience working but the two organizations i have seen up close and personally, i havent found any women in the managerial positions barring one or two (that too in my new position).....so whatever we might say abt there being a bias towards women in b-skool admissions or placements, i feel that in fact there is still a bias against them in general...... (standard disclaimers apply as in grondie's case)

[sandeepr]

Well.. Well.. A hotrod topic for sure..

Coming to the point, while a positive gender bias towards girls might/might not exist, we should understand its impact.

For ex, IF a girl and a boy with the same credentials are compared and the girl is given preference to improve batch diversity in a bschool, i would very gladly agree that this is the right move, PROVIDED, the girl really makes use of such a gesture..

But unfortunately, what my PERSONAL experience has taught me is that these very girls who do a top MBA or for that matter even an MBBS/MTECH from elite institutions tend to waste such an education by NOT working!!

I know quite a few girls who have unashamedly told me that the very reason they do this course is to improve their prospects for a NRI groom!!

Take for example what happened in a top bschool. (I know this source very well) 4 girls were offered a TOP post based in NY for a HUGE dollar pay.. And all the girls refused.. Reason?? Marriage!! And now the company has refused to come to the college..

This is OUTRAGEOUS!! There are ppl for whom every dollar more means less pain and more economic freedom.. And then there are girls who go to do their MBBS.. My neighbour did her MBBS and the nxt month after completion promptly left for the UK, happily married.. Shez now just a glorified housewife..

The question i ask is, are we doin the right thing now with this gender bias in favour of the girl, while the SOCIETY at large (and that includes these girls..) remain oblivious or indifferent to a good will gesture like this??

Agreed there are exceptions to this too, but still such exceptions are RARE and for a majority of the girls as far as i know, the said example seems to be the norm...

Just to make things clear, im no male chauvinist or something.. I have a great respect for women and im all for equality.. But not for such gross misuse of equality.

And IF the girls blame these things on society and family pressures, I have but only one thing to ask, "What about your guts??"..

[monsterkartik]

Originally Posted by lehmanbrothershereicome

Well most of us at some point in time might have pondered on this question....do women have an added advantage of doing an MBA?

Kindly note the below are my personal views

Yes women do have a slight edge during the admissions and placements scenario. The reasons why I see companies and institutions promoting women are

1. By the time women decide to do MBA (non - freshers) most of them have been coaxed or forced to marry. In order to encourage more women to pursue their careers admissions office tend to have a bias towards the fairer sex.

2. The ratio of men to women is skewed in b schools. In order to have a healthy balance and a better perspective in the learning, women are encouraged to join the class.

This cannot be inferred for outright bias. If a situation arises where two students having performed equally well in their admission process, having similar profiles and they have to make a choice....the woman will get preference.

Placement scenarios.
With constant stress on gender equality at work and women performing better than men in some areas, companies are changing their outlook and hiring more women.

Hope we can have a healthy discussion on the same without getting into an ugly discussion.

This thread makes me remember all the discussion abt reservation..though there is no quota in any college for girls (i am not sure abt this)

First of all iu dont think so there is any bias amongst b schools (atleast till the entrance stage). Also at GD/PI stage wat a b school is looking for is the talent in the person, the personality, the background, the profile and not the gender of the person and i dont see any biasness for women in b school selection process. Though they do want to maintain a parity between the gender but there is no rigidity in this process and the variation in number of females in different batches confirms this.

Regarding placement scenario, again no organisation hires looking into gender again (my own personal view). Though in HR field most of the staff is womne but because majority of Junta pusuing HR consists of the fairer sex. What a orgainsation is looking for is the person who they think can best fit into their organisation, who can adjust there accordingly.

Lastly, i ll say tht i dont think so that there is no bias and i hope it is this way

Cheers

MK

[lehmanbrothershereicome]

Originally Posted by sandeepr

And IF the girls blame these things on society and family pressures, I have but only one thing to ask, "What about your guts??"..

how many of us are able to resist parental pressure...very few....most give in....and for those who dont give in.....quite a few parents turn their backs on them....

and why do u think education is wasted if the person marries and does not work.....

isnt education about educating...liberating a person's thinking....letting them get a different view point.....

when that married person educates his/her children arent those values passed down....

are we getting educated just to work?

[sandeepr]

Originally Posted by lehmanbrothershereicome

how many of us are able to resist parental pressure...very few....most give in....and for those who dont give in.....quite a few parents turn their backs on them....

and why do u think education is wasted if the person marries and does not work.....

isnt education about educating...liberating a person's thinking....letting them get a different view point.....

when that married person educates his/her children arent those values passed down....

are we getting educated just to work?

You are right to the point.. But alas, there is one small thing you forgot to realise..

In INDIA, ask any lower middle class boy/girl. They would say that education is the ONLY way out of the morass they are in. Education is NOT an job exchange, but UNFORTUNATELY thats what they need!! And thats y they struggle hard to get into a top school.. To get away from the constant pressures of rationing, the constant queues, the constant fear of the economic collapse...

If u were say born in the UK or some other westernised/rich society, education for u would be liberation.. BUT here in apna INDIA education is SURVIVAL...

Liberation WILL necessarily have to take a backseat girl... Its JOBS for the needy first and then liberation for the rest..

And then as in the case of the MBBS girl i spoke abt, what abt her duty to treat the ppl??

Also a higher degree DOES NOT provide you liberation.. Liberation is a way of thought.. A way of life.. You cant get that in 2 yrs of elite college education.. It comes only with differential thinking and most importantly, having the courage to put that thinking into practice..

All you need is to stand alone and think for yourself.. But more importantly I personally believe that one must have the guts to back their decision and do what is right.. If not so, why do you need education when you cant put to practice the decision your thinking comes to??

[feelnishant]

Originally Posted by lehmanbrothershereicome

...

and why do u think education is wasted if the person marries and does not work.....

isnt education about educating...liberating a person's thinking....letting them get a different view point.....

when that married person educates his/her children arent those values passed down....

are we getting educated just to work?

Let me explain through some example...

We all know how tough is to crack MBBS exam after 12th.. Much tougher than getting into an enineering college.. Why... coz the number of seats are very less as compared to number of scenario...
Now if a girl is selected, completed her education, gets a MBBS degree, became a doctor and finally marries to someone and end up being a house wife...
In a country like India where the ratio of doctors to civilian is quite low, dont you think this is an offence to get a MBBS degree and then not to practise it... I think it is...

Enlightening urself thru education is also true but not in india where one gets into a college by stepping over the head of fellow competetors... if he/she cant utilize it to personal or countrys benefit..then its a shame..

Also i wonder why dont employement agency put some pointers on girls who get into BE/BTECH/MBBS/MBA and other colleges and make them fill the bond that they need to work for some number of years before taking any perssonal decision... I am saying this coz quite a lot of Gals from the college i studied are happily married house wife now.. and they were much better than me in college academics.....

Nishant