Martini Musing - Gosh, Math Makes My Widdle Head Hurt.
You know, even at my age and experience level, I still run into people that see the fluffy blond hair and assume there’s no brain beneath it. I’ve stopped being upset - if they’re that stupid, they’re not worth my time anyway. There are plenty of men who appreciate brainy women, including several of my best clients.
So, it did my heart good to read Tom Peters full-on rant mode re a recent WSJ “Why Women Refrain From Pursuing MBAs” Here’s a bit from the article that incurred Mr. P’s ire:
Both in Europe and the U.S., some experts cite a perception that M.B.A. programs are overly macho and too focused on competition, and note that women are less likely than men to enter sectors where an M.B.A. is highly valued, such as investment banking and consulting…
Labrina Barmpetaki, a student at Britain’s Lancaster University Management School, said many women who consider M.B.A.s lack the self-confidence needed to leave a secure job and leap into a degree program. Often their families may not back such decisions, especially in her native Greece, she said.
Lancaster is one of many schools that have worked hard to shake that image, shifting from a traditional focus on technical and quantitative teaching to emphasize “soft skills” that course directors believe play to many women’s strengths. Those abilities, like leadership, communication and team management, are increasingly prized by employers, they add.
Oh gosh, thanks so much for that partronizing spin, Lancaster. That number stuff is just so hard…and homework takes time away from shoe-buying and playing with make-up…Then, of course, some women are their own worst enemy. *Sigh*
Or, maybe the schools just aren’t any good…
Have a great weekend! Me and my fluffy blond head are going to visit some museums and think deep thoughts. (btw, I hate to buy shoes…)
Tags: Friday martini time, Mary Schmidt, sexism
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November 16th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Did you happen to recall the event about 10 years ago, where a bunch of people “rewired” the “Math is HARD” Barbie - and swapped out the voice box with GI Joe dolls?
http://sniggle.net/barbie.php
It’s worth the read.
November 16th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
When I was attending night school for my MBA in the early 80’s, one of my fellow engineers used to give me a ride from work to school. We talked a lot and she told me what a bitch it was being a female engineer. I’m extremely disappointed that not much has changed 25 years later. Where is the outrage?
But I have to admit a deep dark secret. Ever since then I have made it a point when hiring to “cast the net widely” and bring in women and other minorities into the mix. Why? Simple statistics. Compare 100 MBA women against 100 MBA men. The women will kick butt every time. And if you don’t understand why, please re-read your statistics books.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:44 am
You probably know by now Mary that the second of the two paragraphs mentioning Lancaster was wrongly attributed to us. The first paragraph about our MBA student Labrina is of course her personal opinion based on her experience about challenges facing women, especially in Greece, and it resonates with other examples we can think of. If we did say or believe the patronising things in the second paragraph we would deserve every word you and your commentators say.
One of the binds we get into is that, since the UK MBA market is targeted at much more students on average than in the US (average age 29, average work experience 7 years) then we have a decision whether to follow the US practice and only admit candidates scoring highly on the quants tests in GMAT, or be more influenced by their career success to date and a broader range of criteria. We do the latter. So we end up with students of both genders who find the quants stuff hard (perhaps because they dropped out of the math classes early on, and made their careers based on other capabilities), as well as students of both genders who find the more qualitative subjects hard (especially those who have made careers in engineering, finance). That’s the challenge, but it’s a great one which is helped by collaborative learning ( students can learn from each other’s experience as well as from faculty, and faculty can test their theory with experienced practitioners in the classroom. Hope this isn’t too boring.
November 19th, 2007 at 5:46 am
sorry folks, my 2nd paragraph should say “much more mature students”.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Rick,
Thanks so much for taking time to clarify. Sounds like Lancaster’s program is on the right track.
(And, yes Ike - I remember the Barbie incident. AH-yahhh.)