Patricia Manosalva

Johnson Dean Soumitra Dutta, second from left, at the White House Aug. 5.

Soumitra Dutta, dean of Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, joined a group of more than 40 of the nation’s elite business school deans Aug. 5 at an event hosted by the White House Council on Women and Girls and the Council of Economic Advisers. Along with businesses leaders and Obama administration officials, Dutta discussed strategies to expand opportunities for women in business, and how to address changing workforce needs at U.S. business schools.

“It is imperative that we provide educational experiences that effectively encourage and promote women in business,” Dutta said. “At Johnson, our mission is to develop global business leaders who can successfully lead in the diverse marketplace, and so we are committed to ensuring women are provided access to the most competitive business education and supportive environment available.”

To inform the event, the Council of Economic Advisers released a brief highlighting unique barriers women face in business careers, and the need for business schools and the business community to work together to encourage women’s success. Highlights of the brief:

• Although women increasingly have entered previously male-dominated occupations like medicine and law, they have made relatively fewer strides in business careers. In 2014, only 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs were female, and in 2013 only 17 percent of board seats in Fortune 500 companies were held by women.
• Undergraduate women are about 30 percent less likely than male undergraduates to major in business.
• A recent study by a global business school accreditor found that women represent only 38 percent of North American MBA students.
• Men and women in MBA programs have fairly similar earnings at graduation, but after five years, men earn approximately 30 percent more than women, and 60 percent more after 10 or more years.
• An increased role for women in business increases productivity, improves decision making and heightens performance.

At the White House event, Johnson and 45 other business schools committed to a set of best practices in four areas: ensuring access to business schools and business careers; building a business school experience that prepares students for the workforce of tomorrow; ensuring career services go beyond the needs of traditional students; and exemplifying how organizations should be run.

Johnson’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion encourages young women to pursue an MBA, and over the last decade, the school has launched initiatives to promote women’s enrollment. These include educating Cornell undergraduate women on the benefits of an MBA; hosting entrepreneurial workshops for high school girls; and offering classes that provide in-depth study of the challenges and opportunities regarding gender disparities in the workplace. Working with corporate partners, alumni, students, faculty and staff, Johnson is dedicated to increasing female executive talent in business.

During the daylong summit, Dutta also served on a plenary panel to discuss recruiting, training and retaining leaders for the 21st-century workplace. The panel also discussed strategies for business educators to prepare students to succeed in leading an evolving workforce.

Shannon Dortch is associate director of public and media relations for Johnson.