According to the Executive MBA Council, just 30 percent of all executive MBA (EMBA) students last year were women. This number may sound low, but it is in fact a record high, and although there’s a long way to go until gender parity, several EMBA programs deserve great credit for increasing their proportion of female students.
There are several reasons usually given for the gender disparity on EMBA programs. Most often cited is the fact that family and household duties often fall to women, so the work-life balance can make it hard for women to pursue an EMBA. This is exacerbated by the fact that the age that people generally pursue an EMBA often coincides with women starting and raising families.
Another potential setback for women who want to pursue an EMBA is that these programs are often extremely expensive. As the gender pay gap means women generally earn less than men, the high fees for an EMBA may be more daunting for women.
Michael Desiderio, executive director of EMBAC, speaking to TopMBA.com, emphasizes the need for diversity in the EMBA world:
“Gender diversity in the classroom leads to diverse thinking; diverse thinking leads to better business solutions. The business community is in need of more women in leadership roles and EMBA programs are designed to help develop leaders.”
As well as ranking the best EMBA programs around the world, the QS EMBA Rankings 2018 also collected data on the percentage of women enrolled on each of the ranked executive MBA programs. Check out which programs are making strides in the right direction.
You can see the overall Global EMBA rankings here, and the Joint Rankings here.
=9) University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics and the University of Louisville

Proportion of women: 47 percent
Joint EMBA ranking: 24
Unsurprisingly, given the high proportion of female students, this joint program offered by the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville (pictured), scores highly in the joint programs ranking for diversity.
The 20-month program meets every other weekend on Fridays and Saturdays, with terms scheduled in both Lexington and Louisville. Participants also attend a 12-day international Public Policy study trip. Offering access to the considerable alumni base of both universities, the tuition fees for this program are $67,500, including textbooks, most meals on class days, a personal computing device for use and to keep after the program is over, plus accommodation for the international residency.
=9) Suffolk University Sawyer Business School

Proportion of women: 47 percent
Global EMBA ranking: 101-110
Located in the educational hotspot of Boston, the 16-month EMBA program at Suffolk scores highly in this year’s EMBA ranking for executive profile, career outcomes, and diversity.
It consists of 12 courses and four travel seminars, conducted both in America and a travel seminar abroad. On the travel seminars you can go abroad for seven to 10 days, visiting a variety of businesses from global headquarters to small start-ups.
Tuition is $1,794 per credit, with students completing around 45 credits over the course of the program.
8) Grenoble Ecole de Management

Proportion of women: 48 percent
Global EMBA ranking: 64
While this EMBA is offered by the French school Grenoble Ecole de Management (pictured), teaching takes place in either Tbilisi, Georgia, or Moscow, Russia. The Moscow course is taught 75 percent in English and 25 percent in Russian, which is something you’ll need to consider before applying if you can’t understand Russian.
The course takes 22 months to complete on campus at weekends (in either Tbilisi or Moscow), followed by a final management project, with optional intensive weeks of study in Grenoble.










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