In just 20 years, Stanford saw a surge in women attending their business school of close to 20 percent. That’s a significant sign that women are ready to take on the role of entrepreneur. In fact, they are becoming increasingly present in every sector of industry as company leaders.
Female managers in every field
If you can’t imagine a woman walking around among a welding machine and other tools, directing men at work, then you belong in another century. Today, women can be seen everywhere, in roles including managers and company owners. This trend should only be amplified in the years to come, as the number of women students on business courses continue to grow. In fact, schools like Stanford were afraid that the pandemic would slow women down – but it did not. The fall semester of 2020 saw exactly the same percentage of women attending the school (47%) as the previous one.
Gender equality: a school priority
It’s easy to forget that gender equality is a relatively new reality. It’s only in the last 20 years or so that we have been heading towards such a balance in work opportunities and salaries (though we are not there yet, especially on the latter).
If you look at the four main business schools in the UK, you’ll notice a great movement towards equality over the last 20 years, but they are still trailing behind. Back then, only 18% of business students were women. Today, the average of the most important institutions is much better at around 30%, but it’s still a long way away from gender equality.
The pandemic was harder on women
The coronavirus crisis did not help women move ahead in their goal of gender equality. That’s because they were more solicited than their male counterparts throughout the whole ordeal. In fact, studies showed that at home, women had to double-up on household duties during the lockdown, while men concentrated more on their work. It’s difficult for mentalities to change, but as this shows, it helps us to remind ourselves that the gender equality battle doesn’t only take place in our work environment, but in everything we do during the day.
Women leaders everywhere
It’s important to look at all the examples of strong leaders that women around the world have today. In European politics, Angela Merkel has been the strongest leaders for the last couple of decades. As many men from many countries came and went, she remained a pillar of what can easily be considered the most important economic force of the EU: Germany. It’s figures such as her that help women seek out important roles in society.