While the current job status and career progression of women in business schools and corporate contexts is improving, the pace of improvement is uneven. For example, the relative scarcity of women deans, lower numbers of women professors and associate professors and far fewer women CEOs/corporate board members indicates the gender imbalance in such roles. This paper concentrates on examining the situation in Latin America (LATAM) and, particularly, Mexico as a country-level contrast to the global experience and introduces initiatives such as IPADE’s Research Centre on Women in Senior Management (CIMAD) and the collaborative Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors which have certainly great potential to continue improving gender equality in corporate leadership by actively promoting the value and development of female talent.

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Introduction

It is clear that women are regularly demonstrating higher levels of performance, merit and attainment in high school, business school and university contexts. Yet while the current job status and career progression of women in business schools and corporate contexts is improving, the pace of improvement is uneven. For example, the relative scarcity of women deans, lower numbers of women professors and associate professors and far fewer women CEOs/corporate board members indicates the gender imbalance in such roles.

Yet some progress is being made. AACSB’s (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International) recent report on ‘Leading today’s business schools’ (February 26th, 2024) notes that the percentage of women deans globally is at around a 30% level, (from roughly half that percentage 10 years earlier) with variations across countries. Poets&Quants notes that despite welcome changes in the number of female deans globally, deans at the world’s most prestigious schools are overwhelmingly male, white and old. Consequently, although some progress has been made to improve gender equality in business schools and corporate contexts there still seems to be a ‘gender bias’ against women as path-breaking leaders and scholars. However, the collective commitment to gender equality, established as principle five in the UN’s list of Sustainable Development Goals, is still an attainable goal. Acceleration in leadership roles in, and around, business schools needs continued attention across all continents and countries in the world. This paper concentrates on examining the situation in Latin America (LATAM) and, particularly, Mexico as a country-level contrast to the global experience.

The LATAM context

In the first instance it is important to understand the issue of gender imbalance at the global level (see Table I) and contrast it with the situation in Latin America (see Table II). Tables I and II together capture time series data about the percentage of female students in business studies/business administration programmes globally and also in the LATAM context. A quick comparison of these tables shows that enrolments in undergraduate programmes are extremely similar but there are significant differences in postgraduate programme (MBA, EMBA and specialist masters) enrolment between LATAM and global contexts.

Table I: Percentage of female students in business programmes – global

Source: BSQ Overview Report Global 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Table II: Percentage of female students in business programmes – LATAM

Source: BSQ Overview Report Latin America & Caribbean 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023.

Table III below analyses the relative differences in the percentages of female students in LATAM schools. It shows that LATAM attendance is significantly lower than that of global students with respect to MBA, EMBA and specialist masters programmes (whose aim and strategic intent is typically to develop professional management skills).

Data from GMAC (the Graduate Management Admissions Council) the organisation managing the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) is also very useful and provides further useful insights. According to GMAC’s (2023) application summary reports, female applications to graduate management programmes (MBA and EMBA) have been around 40% and 30% respectively globally with only one-year specialist masters programmes (in specific areas, finance, marketing, etc.) reaching around the 50% level attained at the undergraduate level on a global basis. Hence, there is a significant gender gap in applications to MBA and EMBA graduate management programmes globally in comparison to the almost equal undergraduate situation.

Table III: Difference in percentage of female students global-LATAM

Sources: BSQ Overview Report Global 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023; BSQ Overview Report Latin America & Caribbean 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023.

Table III further points out very clearly the average 7-8% differences in graduate management education applications for LATAM students. This disparity in participation, and qualification, in graduate management education has clear ‘spillover’ effects in terms of the persistent under-representation of females in senior management leadership posts in business schools, appointments as corporate CEOs or as members of corporate boards. Indeed, GMAC’s figure for the percentage of females on corporate boards is around 30% globally.

Table IV: Percentage of women on boards of directors

Our own analysis in Table IV of the average difference in female board membership between OECD countries and Mexico shows a difference of 14.9%. Mexico’s data shows that only around 10% of women are corporate board members in the country.

This finding raises the question of how business schools, whether in Western countries, or more particularly LATAM contexts, can communicate (more forcefully) the value of obtaining a graduate management degree in enabling women to achieve appropriate, and meaningful, seniority in their corporate careers.

In addition, business schools must also simultaneously improve their gender inequities. While we note that the percentage of female deans has reached a 30% level a reasonable target should be 40% at least. Even more importantly, there must be a significant increase in the percentages of female faculty in both global and LATAM schools.

Table V: Full-time faculty in business schools – global

Source: BSQ Overview Report Global 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Table VI: Full-time faculty in business schools – LATAM

Source: BSQ Overview Report Latin America & Caribbean 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2023; Accredited business schools’ websites.

Tables V and VI present the percentages of female faculty in business schools globally and in the LATAM region. Although there are some small differences, full-time faculty are in the 30-35% range overall and about 25-30% for female deans. Efforts are clearly being made to attack gender imbalances in business schools’ dean appointments.

From the perspective of LATAM business schools in general the signs are encouraging. However, the issues of promoting and fostering greater female participation in senior management, corporate boards and corporate leadership remain. Therefore, by examining the strategic perspectives of IPADE as a leading graduate business school as a case study example, we can identify its continuing growth goals and activities as a role model for LATAM management studies.

IPADE Business School as a case study

Table VII presents an overview of IPADE’s graduate management education portfolio indicating the presence of female students in these programmes. 

Table VII: Percentage of female students at IPADE Business School

Note: The Management Development Programme targets C-level executives, while the Executive Management Programme is aimed at CEOs, company owners and chairpersons.

It shows that on average over time about 60% of female students are members of the MBA and EMBA programmes which are regarded as high-quality programmes (similar to leading programmes in North American, European and Asian programmes). These are typically aimed at training post-undergraduate students already having some management experience into rounded, well-trained, up-to-date managers who can potentially lead organisational strategic growth, innovation and change. The remaining 40% of students are more experienced employees sent by their companies to address, and learn, the skills of management and its practice through, often customised, intensive executive or senior management development programmes. Their aim is to enrich and ‘upskill’ employees seen as future high-value, high-talent managers.

As a school, IPADE and its senior management team have noted the gender gaps and inequities and have committed themselves to enhancing the presence of female talent in senior management and C-suite positions as a strategic priority. For the school, as a consequence, it has launched two major initiatives, namely, the Research Centre on Women in Senior Management (CIMAD) and the Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors. Both of these initiatives are explained in greater detail below.

Research Centre on Women in Senior Management

During October 2007, a group of businesswomen and female faculty members at IPADE Business School noticed the low proportion of women in the classrooms. As a result, and supported by IPADE, they took it upon themselves to establish a centre that would research and disseminate schemes to enhance the human and professional development of female executives and entrepreneurs. On November 19, 2008, the Research Centre on Women in Senior Management (CIMAD) was launched before 450 women, creating high expectations for both women and organisations. Since then, CIMAD has contributed to the inclusion, promotion, and retention of female talent in companies as well as to changing the male-female paradigm.

CIMAD was established principally to study and help promote female talent development in organisations, with a special focus on their role in senior management positions, boards of directors, and family businesses in emerging markets.

The mission of the Centre reads as follows: “To enhance the human and professional development of female executives and entrepreneurs through the production, dissemination, and promotion of relevant research for individuals, families, businesses, and society.”

CIMAD’s key objectives are:

• To conduct and disseminate research on the reality of female executives and entrepreneurs through various types of publications.
• To offer training programmes aimed at developing the necessary skills for female executives and entrepreneurs to succeed in their roles as leaders in their societies and families.
• To advance cooperation among higher education institutions and organisations aimed at widening the scope of influence of female executives and entrepreneurs through forums, conferences, and seminars.
• To design and put forward innovative frameworks addressing the woman-business-family relationship system.
• To foster the integral development of women and the improvement of business, families, and society by promoting a more active participation of women in various contexts and helping them to fully develop their capabilities.

From its foundation to 2019, the central strategic focus was on practice-oriented research and engagement with key actors in the business and academic communities, while the emphasis on strengthening academic research began in 2020. As such, to date, the centre has produced the following research output:

• One publication in the journal Gender in Management: Burnout Effect on Working Mothers in Leadership Positions during the COVID-19 lockdown.
• Six articles presented in international academic conferences (Academy of Management, European Academy of Management, Business Association of Latin American Studies, and Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations).
• More than 350 media appearances and 80 scientific outreach articles on the topic of women in senior management.
• 50 conferences, 11 books, 37 research documents, 24 cases, 36 technical notes, 6 podcasts, 13 webinars, and 6 seminars.

Among CIMAD’s key publications, we can cite the following practice-oriented books:

• ‘The Female Side of Power’, jointly written by scholars from IPADE Business School in Mexico, IAE Business School in Argentina, and INALDE Business School in Colombia, seeking to explore the global situation of women in senior management to identify prevalent strategies that female executives have followed to achieve leadership positions.
• ‘Transforming Paradigms, Opening Paths to Talent’ bringing together the findings of research about best practices to develop female talent conducted in six international companies representing a diverse pool of industries: American Express, General Motors, IBM, MetLife, SAP, and Scotiabank. The book identifies paradigms in the workplace on female leadership, organisational culture, inclusion, traditional roles, and intergenerational coexistence, among others. Through testimonies, experiences and figures, the book presents the achievements and challenges that these companies have had in their search to promote female talent, attract new generations to collaborate with them, and develop a leadership style that generates inclusive organisational cultures.
• ‘Women’s Participation on Boards of Directors’, a publication stemming directly from the Latin America Scholars Community – a network of researchers launched in 2019 joining up 27 business schools from the region with EFMD as global sponsor that focuses on developing content about the continent. The book was collaboratively written by female faculty members from six Mexican higher education institutions, both public and private – IPADE Business School, ITAM, Universidad Anáhuac, UNAM, Universidad Iberoamericana, and Universidad Panamericana. In addition, Deloitte and Mendel participated as strategic partners. The writing delves into the current situation of women in the business world, especially in their path to access senior management positions and join Boards of Directors. Further, the research analyses the main challenges that women face to be able to participate in these positions and put forward strategies to reduce the gender gap in the country.

Nowadays, the Research Centre on Women in Senior Management is a leading reference on issues related to women on boards of directors, high-impact businesswomen, strategies for promoting and including female talent in organisations, as well as creating cultures and environments that promote complementarity between women and men. It has been instrumental for many companies to collaborate and become aware of the importance of promoting and retaining female talent for driving business growth and impact. Due to its meaningful work, in 2023, CIMAD won first place in the Going BEYOND Awards given by the Global Business School Network and EFMD Global. These awards were designed to highlight and share programmes and initiatives that strengthen society, demonstrate positive community impact, and embody the spirit of inclusive and sustainable development.

Looking ahead, CIMAD seeks to strengthen the positioning of its scholarly research within the academic community, while acknowledging that to expand its impact on organisations and society, it will be key to continue conducting, disseminating and promoting practice-oriented research and activities. With this goal in mind, CIMAD, together with six private and public Mexican universities, launched the Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors, which will be described in the following section.

The Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors

Today, the representation of women on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies in Mexico is very low, only 11% are female board members. According to CIMAD’s findings, lack of visibility, promotion, and recruitment are major factors behind this situation.

To address this problem, in March 2020, CIMAD convened several universities (i.e., EGADE, ITAM, Universidad Anáhuac, UNAM, Universidad Iberoamericana, and Universidad Panamericana) to create a database of prominent women with professional careers supporting their appointment to become members of boards of directors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ‘Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors’ was not officially launched until September 21, 2021.

Female executives directly enrol themselves in the network database via CIMAD’s website, which also works as a promotional tool for the network in addition to the events organised by CIMAD with this purpose. As such, the database has facilitated the connection between high-level women and companies interested in their participation.

Currently, the Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors has 450 women members and has provided nearly 400 profiles to a diverse pool of companies (mainly in the tech and banking industries). Also, it has been supported and joined by more than 30 organisations such as Deloitte, the Institutional Stock Exchange, 50/50 Women on Boards, International Women’s Forum, Women Presidents’ Organization, Women Corporate Directors, 30% Club, Mexican Employers Association, Mexican Association of Women Executives, and several sectorial female associations.

Among the key challenges of the network in the future is to secure funds that will allow it to scale up its operation, making it known to a greater number of companies and women executives, and aiming to increase the number of profiles both offered and requested, thus expanding the reach of the initiative.

Final thoughts

While some progress has been made to improve gender equality in business schools and corporate contexts in Latin America, there is still a long way to go. Initiatives such as IPADE’s Research Centre on Women in Senior Management (CIMAD) and the collaborative Mexican Network of Women Experts and Board Directors have certainly a great potential to continue improving gender equality in corporate leadership by actively promoting the value and development of female talent.

Further, these types of initiatives should have a positive spillover effect on the number of women executives searching for business education programmes to constantly enhance their managerial skills and performance, thus creating a virtuous circle since both initiatives were initiated and driven by ‘business school’s women’. As such, female deans, faculty members and management education students must be mindful of the definite role and responsibility that they have to help in closing gender gaps in Latin American management education and its consequent impact on society. This could be achieved by proactively launching and supporting novel initiatives that go beyond the more traditional business school programmes and scholarly publications. Let’s embrace this thrilling challenge!

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