Kelley Direct is thrilled to announce its Spring 2024 cohort is 40% women—an all-time high for the program. These 93 history-making women MBA students are joining a legacy of excellence in an exciting era for Kelley Direct. Their MBA journey begins just in time for our 25th anniversary and our most recent 2024 U.S. News & World Report #1 online MBA ranking.
Empowering women in business through MBA education
Women have long been underrepresented in MBA programs. According to Forté, only 41% of Forté MBA graduates are women, compared to 50% in law and medical school. Abigail Gschwend, associate director of enrollment management for Kelley Direct says this lack of gender parity in the MBA classroom directly leads to the underrepresentation of women in the boardroom and in the C-suite. Only 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women and only 32% of S&P 500 board members are women, according to Forté. However, this pipeline of women leaders is on the rise through the efforts of the Kelley Direct Online MBA Program. We are actively recruiting, retaining, and graduating MBA women. Over the past five years, the enrollment of women students in Kelley Direct has increased by more than 10%.
Percentage of women in Kelley Direct Spring incoming classes:
- Previous classes have averaged 28% women
- Spring 2024 class: 40%
The Spring 2024 class of future women business leaders by the numbers
With an average age of 33 and nearly nine years of professional work experience, the women in Kelley Direct’s incoming class bring with them a wealth of experience and add to our tradition of excellence. They have an average GPA of 3.4 and an average incoming salary of $116,000. They represent seven different countries of citizenship and a diverse array of industries and companies. This is where our motto, “Learn from the best with the best,” really comes to life. Kelley Direct incoming women are leaders at the following companies:
- Anheuser Busch
- Bank of America
- Boston Consulting Group
- DELL Technologies
- Eli Lilly
- General Motors
- Johnson & Johnson
- Kraft Heinz
- Levi Strauss
- Lockheed Martin
- Morgan Stanley
- Rolls-Royce
- Salesforce
- Unilever
- US Federal Government
- The Walt Disney Company
- Yahoo
- Zillow Group
Forté partnership to support women in business leadership
Kelley Direct is a proud Forté partner. In collaboration with Forté, Kelley Direct awarded more than 60 Forté Fellowship awards to our Spring 2024 class, which makes 74% of our Spring 2024 women Forté Fellows. These students receive a merit-based scholarship from Kelley Direct in addition to the opportunity to join Forté at no cost, access exclusive networking opportunities, join an exclusive resume book, go to summer meetups, and attend Forté’s annual MBA Women’s Leadership Conference.
Fostering community and belonging
Last year, Kelley Direct sponsored nine incoming women to attend the Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference in Dallas, and Kelley was in the top five schools with the most attendees at the conference in 2023.
We love working with our Forte Ambassador team to plan virtual women’s networking nights, in-person meet-ups at Kelley On Campus, and other community-building events. Our Women in Business Association also works to bring women together in the online environment and provide professional development opportunities to Kelley Direct women.
Are you interested in learning more about joining this group of women in business leadership roles?
The Kelley Direct Online MBA Program provides a variety of support programs to women who are interested in pursuing an MBA. Start by learning more about what sets Kelley Direct apart from other MBA options on the market. See what it takes to prepare a strong application. Finally, explore the opportunities and resources available to women MBA students.