Berkeley Haas ranks #2 in U.S. in Top MBAs for Women, #3 worldwide

MBA students Jennifer Werkmeister, Hannah Levinson & Kira Mikityanskaya, all MBA 19.

Fueled by high alumnae salaries, the Full-time Berkeley MBA Program ranks #2 among US schools and #3 in the world for women, according to the Financial Times.

The “Top MBAs for Women” ranking names the schools where women have the best outcomes, compared with those where data reveals a gap between male and female graduates. Berkeley Haas women reported earning 3 percent more than their male classmates three years after graduation, and had the 2nd highest salaries of programs worldwide, averaging almost $180,000 three years after graduation.

The ranking taps data the Financial Times collected for its 2018 Global MBA Ranking. About 45 percent of it is based on three salary measures reported by the Class of 2014, including:

  • Alumnae’s current salary, three years after earning an MBA: At $179,930, Haas alumnae were 2nd only Stanford Business School grads worldwide.
  • The gender pay gap: Haas alumnae reported earning 103 percent of what male classmates earned, and ranked third in this category.
  • Salary increase​: Haas alumnae reported a 110 percent increase in their salaries from pre-MBA to three years post-MBA.

Gender equity efforts pay off

Laura Tyson
Prof. Emeritus Laura Tyson, Berkeley Haas’ first female dean

While the Financial Times publishes its annual Global MBA ranking each January, that report doesn’t address whether women do as well as their male peers after graduation. The publication added this further analysis on women’s outcomes for the first time this year. The FT reported evidence “to suggest that an MBA exaggerates the gender pay gap: three years after graduation women on average made 86 per cent of their male peers’ pay, the data reveal.”

Berkeley MBAs are bridging that gap. Prof. Laura Tyson, who served as the first female dean of the Haas School from 1998-2001, said the school has worked hard to enroll more women in its MBA program, and to support women in and out of the classroom.

“Our talented alumnae now earn the second-highest average salaries for women MBAs in the US; our gender pay gap has finally closed as female salaries have grown,” Tyson said. “This is exciting news and we look forward to increasing our support of our female MBA students, alumnae, our women on the faculty, and our programs like the Center for Gender, Equity & Leadership (CGEL).”

Berkeley Haas Top MBA for Women
2017 Women in Leadership Conference co-chairs Shipra Agarwal and Chiaki Nakajima, both MBA 17, got more men involved in the event.

Kellie McElhaney, founding director of CGEL, said one of the new center’s goals is to help Haas graduates—women and men—become leaders in the drive for workplace gender equity. The center was launched last fall.

Kellie McElhaney teaches "The Business Case for Investing in Women."
Kellie McElhaney teaches “The Business Case for Investing in Women.”

“Business schools must do more to highlight the workplace pay equity challenges that women face,” McElhaney said, noting that both women and men at Haas are deeply involved in both the annual Women in Leadership conference and the manbassadors—about 100 male Berkeley MBA students dedicated to fighting gender inequity as students and future workforce leaders. “We focus on equipping our female students with strategic equity tools, and we’re seeing that our early actions can produce fast wins. In addition, raising awareness with men and engaging them as allies is also critical.”

Talking equity with recruiters

Abby Scott, assistant dean of MBA career management, said her group has regular conversations with recruiters, and this includes ensuring that the recruiting process includes a representative mix of employees and other strategies for success.

Scott said the annual Haas Employer Roundtable in April will focus on diversity and inclusion, but also include a discussion on the impact of gender on salaries led by McElhaney.

Top MBAs for Women
A scene from the 2017 Women in Leadership Conference

Some other data points in this FT ranking are the percentage of female students in the most recently enrolled class (The current Full-time Berkeley MBA class is comprised of 40 percent women); career services scores and aims achieved; and the percentage of female faculty.

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