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30 Women's enrollment at many business schools Now, prominent advocates for women in business are focusing their efforts on this issue, intent on breaking the 30-percent barrier. by Tricia Bisoux I 22 ing, flexibility, and connection; but unfortunately, many young women don't view business as a means to those ends. "Business schools are not competing with each other as n the 21st century, a young girl can grow up to be CEO of a Global 500 company, owner of her own multimillion dollar business, or chairwoman of the board. But that doesn't mean she'll want to. In gen- eral, women seek careers that offer challenge, mean- much as with other professional schools for the hearts and minds of women," says Myra Hart, a professor of manage- ment at Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Massachu setts. "Women see the upper echelons of business as more hierar- chical, whereas they see law and medicine as something they can do individually or collaboratively. They perceive that they will have more control over their careers in these fields than in business, and that they'll still be able to make a difference." It would be naïve to say that gender discrimination no longer exists, but it may no longer be the central barrier to women's entry into the business world. Research shows that women often eschew business education due to preference, BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2002 not prejudice. That reality presents an unexpected challenge to business schools: To move beyond 30 percent, b-schools may need to do more than actively recruit women. They may need to change their admissions requirements, curricula, and faculty hiring requirements to win women over. No single corrective is likely to shift the tide, believes still hovers around 30 percent, even while law and medical schools have long enjoyed gender parity. % Anna K. Lloyd, CEO of the Committee of 200 (C200), a Chicago-based organization of women business leaders that supports women in enterprise. "If I were a business school dean, I would start focus groups and talk to women across all backgrounds, all family situations," she says. "I would rethink the structure of the courses, the ability of the pro- fessors, and the financial aid offerings. MBA programs, too, need to be recast—business schools and their curricula need to catch up with the level of self-confidence of this genera- tion of women." Professor Liz Fulop, head of the school of Marketing and Management at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, agrees. "Businesses and universities have to work together to change how women perceive business as a career option and