MBA women: breaking down barriers at business school Kelly Drewery, 36, graduated with an MBA from the Open University Business School in 2011. She says many businesses that sponsor students or value the MBA are male-dominated, including those concerned with technology, defence and management consulting: Typical female areas of employment, including law and human resources, have their own qualifications and specialist career paths so an MBA may not appear to be the best route to the topin these fields. Often, lack of confidence stops women pursuing the MBA route. When they do, their salary expectations are significantly lower than men's. "On MBA graduation, women look for an average of £75,000, while men expect at least £100,000," says Quacquarelli. Both sexes put finance and consulting top of their wish list as a career, but then women aim for the lower-paid consumer-goods industry while men favour technology, energy or engineering. But what are the business schools doing to attract women? Henley Business School targets female applicants, says Caroline Followell, its MBA business development manager: "We're currently number one in the UK in the FT rankings for women in faculty. The fact that women comprise 41 per cent of the academic staff ensures a welcoming culture for female students. The teaching style is collaborative, encouraging debate and discussion. It's important that women feel they have a voice within their learning. A number of UK business schools see MBA scholarships as an effective way to attract more female candidates. Cass, Manchester, Birmingham, Judge and Westminster Business Schools are among those offering awards ranging from £5,000 to £21,000. Financial assistance helps, but for many women the big barrier to considering an MBA is the target age for candidates - the late twenties and thirties, just when they may be starting a family. Pascal Krupka, MBA director at Rouen Business School in France, which has 47 per cent women students on its MBA programme, is aware of this challenge: "We had a female student with children aged seven and four, and after two months she told me she was quitting because the choice was the MBA or her marriage. A few years later, when her children were older, she returned and graduated. Our course now starts at 9.30am, not 8.30, so parents can get their children to school. Women account for 42 per cent of distance-learning MBA students because this mode of study offers a flexible format, but all programmes can support those with family responsibilities. Marjan van Urk's son Floris was born when she was halfway through her MBA at Nyenrode, which provided a house on campus for her and her baby. The school also arranged for newborn Floris to accompany her on a two-week study trip to South Africa. Jacqueline Park researched and visited 15 US and European business schools before deciding on Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. Its female ratio is fairly low at 26 per cent, but Park aims to promote women in MBA programmes as joint chair of the Women's Leadership Network. She is aware that the title may seem divisive. We plan to raise awareness and include men in a conversation about the issues facing women in business. We also want to encourage more mentors and role models for women - including at faculty level. Only one in six business-school deans is a woman. There's no magic formula for achieving parity in business schools. Flexibility, family-friendly support, mentoring, targeting a wider age range, role models and more women faculty members have been cited for years as ways to encourage women to study for an MBA. Do we have to wait another decade before that talk becomes reality? Case study Sue Bence, 41, is director of technology solutions company SBP Consulting. At 16 she joined a law firm as a clerk and qualified as a solicitor at 30. She enrolled on an Executive MBA course at Henley Business School this year and is due to graduate in 2014. "I wanted to do an MBA to develop my business skills, so I investigated several schools based on traditional criteria - rankings, location and syllabus," says Bence. Then I realised personal issues, such as the flexibility of the programme and level of school support, were also key - as I'd had Sam, my son, at 40. Life is hard enough with a family and a career, without adding an MBA into the mix. ""While other schools gave me male contacts, Henley put me in touch with female alumni, which helped me plan. The average age in my cohort was 38 and most students had families. It's comforting to sit next to someone who understands you haven't done a piece of work because you were up all night with a sleepless baby. Also on MBAs: The top 10 business schools in Europe for an MBA MBA in entrepreneurship