The Executive MBA Council’s global survey found that female students in 2017 account for 30.1 per cent of enrolment in EMBA programs, the highest proportion historically and up from 25.3 per cent in 2013.George Doyle
The Globe's business-school news roundup.
When Tharani Napper enrolled in a 15-month executive MBA, which requires studying for a degree while working, her colleagues and business clients told her she was, in her words, "crazy."
After all, the 36-year-old married mother of two young daughters is enjoying a successful career as a pharmaceutical industry consultant. But the St. Catharines, Ont., resident decided she wanted to grow professionally without leaving her employer, Pivina Consulting Inc., where she is director of market access.
She says her boss, Pivina managing director Colin Vicente, quizzed her on what she would get out of the program given she has an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and a minor in business from McMaster University in Hamilton.
"I said I want to take my business acumen to a different level and I want to give better consulting services to our clients," she recalls. "I feel like I have hit the top right now."
With some financial assistance from her employer, Ms. Napper enrolled in the executive MBA program (currently priced at $107,000) at the University of Western Ontario's Ivey Business School in September of 2016. She is set to graduate in January.
On several counts, she fits the emerging profile of mid-career professionals who choose this specialty degree, according to a recent survey by the California-based Executive MBA Council, which represents more than 200 postsecondary institutions in 30 countries, including Canada.
The survey found that female students in 2017 account for 30.1 per cent of enrolment, the highest proportion historically and up from 25.3 per cent in 2013. As well, 44.7 per cent of students fully pay their own tuition, up from 41.2 per cent in 2013, while the share of those receiving some assistance from employers is steady at about 34 per cent. The survey found that the percentage of students who receive full reimbursement from their employer dropped to 20.8 per cent in 2017, an historic low, compared to 24 per cent in 2013.
At Ivey, a council member, the percentage of female participation in recent EMBA cohorts has climbed to the mid-30s, up from 25 or 30 per cent several years ago.
While there is no obvious explanation for the growth, a changing profile of participants (more small and medium-sized firms and entrepreneurs and fewer big companies) may be one factor, says John-Derek Clarke, executive director of recruitment and admissions for master programs, including the executive MBA.
As at Ivey, the Executive MBA Council's global survey reports generally flat enrolment, though the average class size has edged up (one measure of demand) because of larger-than-normal cohorts at Chinese schools.
Earlier this week, in a separate council survey of executive MBA graduates, respondents reported a 14.2-per-cent increase in compensation, including salaries and bonuses, after completing their programs.
Meanwhile, the growth in female participation in programs is a positive development, says Michael Desiderio, executive director of the council, given the age-and-stage hurdle facing women. On average, executive MBA students are 38 years old with 14 years of work experience – a time of life when women are often raising young families.
Regardless of gender, he says, mid-career professionals look to executive MBA programs to fuel their careers.
"More and more people are recognizing the environment they are living in in the business community is more and more competitive," he says. In addition, an executive MBA class typically includes a cross-section of the economy. "It is hard to duplicate getting 45 people together from a diverse set of industries to solve business cases."
That is true for Ms. Napper, who says she already has applied what she has learned from Ivey's case-based classroom teaching and collaboration with fellow students from diverse industries to the pharmaceutical industry.
"I get to hear about different strategies that work – and haven't worked," she says.
Juggling work and family obligations is challenging, she concedes, but made possible through strong support from colleagues, an "amazing" husband and extended family.
For each of the program's three terms, she spends one week at Ivey in London, Ont., then travels once a month for classes delivered Thursday through Sunday at the school's satellite campus in Toronto.
"If you are going to do this, you have to realize you can't be what you were before you went into this," advises Ms. Napper, an advocate for increased female participation. "You have to acknowledge you are not the superstar and you can't do everything by yourself."
In her case, she says she is a "control freak" but learned to hand off some work responsibilities to her Pivina team, with positive results. "This experience is making me a better leader," she says.
Increasingly, schools offer scholarships, including for women, to diversify the cohort of students, according to the council's Mr. Desiderio.
While not offering scholarships, Ivey has struck new relationships to connect with potential female candidates. Last year, the school started to work with Lean In Canada, which promotes female success in business. In addition, Ivey offers career coaching to potential applicants, male or female, to help them decide if their career goals fit with the program.
With her studies coming to a close, Ms. Napper describes her program as an investment, not an expense. "It is like buying a house," she says. "You know it is going to appreciate in value."
Perhaps best of all, she says colleagues and clients have commented on her professional growth and no longer view her decision to return to school as "crazy."
From business dean to university president
Steven Murphy, dean of Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management since 2013, has been named the new president of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, effective March 1, 2018.
During his tenure at Rogers in Toronto, he expanded co-op education and revamped the dean's council, recruiting members from industry and elsewhere for their expertise in advancing the school's priorities.
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