A B-School Boys Club?
Historically, business has always been a boys club – picture spiffy suits, cigar clubs, and golf course negotiations. That was back in the day, of course, and recently women have become much greater players (think Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo). Even so, gender equality – or inequality – remains a hot-button issue, and some recent press has us taking a second look at women’s status in the business world.
When The Harbus reported recently on the academic gender gap at Harvard Business School, it stated that women were shocked by a marked historical difference between men and women’s academic performance at business school. The article goes on to detail how the women (the article’s authors in particular) combated their surprise by researching the causes of the achievement gap, looking to understand how personal, social, and demographic characteristics affect the academic experience.
After reviewing several possibilities, the researchers found that the most substantiated cause for women’s underperformance at HBS was their feeling of discomfort towards speaking in class. The women reported feeling less comfortable participating due to their perceived difference in academic and professional backgrounds. They also found themselves self-editing in class in order to manage their image outside the classroom.