The Benefits for Women Studying Business in America

Women's colleges in the United States uniquely prepare women for success by offering a strong academic curriculum, professors who challenge them to excel and a network of graduates who assist them upon graduation and throughout their professional lives. Women's college graduates are well-prepared to attain top positions in their career fields and at higher salaries than women graduates of coeducational institutions.

Notable women's college graduates include Jeane Kirkpatrick, first female U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (Stephens College); Madeleine Albright, the first female secretary of state in the United States (Wellesley College); and Geraldine Ferraro, first female U.S. vice-presidential candidate (Marymount Manhattan College).

These women are among the fewer than 4 percent of college-educated women who graduated from a women's college. Although small in number, women's college graduates are influential, as indicated by the following statistics from the Women's College Coalition:

Undergraduate residential programs
Women are earning an increasingly larger share of bachelor's degrees in business, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1995, women earned 48 percent of undergraduate business degrees, compared to 9 percent in 1971.

Undergraduate business programs at women's colleges provide opportunities for women to gain the knowledge and experience necessary to succeed in the business world. High-quality programs are grounded in a liberal arts education, allowing students to adopt a broad perspective; think critically and creatively; use new technologies; interact with people from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds; and refine their leadership skills. Courses explore topics of, by and about women.

By participating in campus and community organizations, students apply the theories they learn in the classroom to real-world situations. Business internships, which place students with employers such as Andersen Consulting and Paine Webber for a limited period of time to gain experience and supplement their education, are invaluable. A college's career services office helps students locate top internship and career opportunities as well as professional and graduate schools.

Continuing education and graduate programs
Many women's colleges, in addition to their residential program for women, offer continuing education and graduate programs designed for men and women who maintain full-time jobs in addition to family and community responsibilities. Both undergraduate and graduate students have close contact with their professors, and course formats are designed to fit their busy schedules. Flexible formats may include independent, guided study; on-line courses; on-campus classes in the evenings, on weekends and during the day; and short-format courses. Credit is often given for prior learning experienced outside the classroom. External degree and Internet-based programs allow students to earn a degree from a quality institution without having to relocate or leave their jobs.

Women and men studying business at the graduate level may enroll in an accredited Internet-based Master of Business Administration Program, which may offer emphases in entrepreneurial business or management, for example. Regardless of where students live, they can complete coursework and converse with their professors and fellow students over the Internet.

The business world
In 1996, women owned one-third of all businesses in the United States, according to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners. The foundation reports that since 1987, the number of women-owned U.S. businesses grew by 78 percent to reach 7.95 million in 1996, outpacing the 47 percent growth rate for all U.S. firms during this same period. In 1996, women-owned businesses generated $2.28 trillion in revenue and employed 18.5 million people, representing 26 percent of the U.S. workforce.

With a significant and growing segment of the business world being filled, managed and owned by women, a business degree from a high-quality institution becomes invaluable.

Marcia S. Kierscht
President
Stephens College

"Women who attend Stephens College are serious about getting the best education possible, excited and enthusiastic about the possibilities, able to work closely with professors and peers, able to develop a deeper awareness and understanding of different cultures, and able to apply their knowledge in the real world."
Kimber Trower
Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri