Taking Up Difference: Addressing Inequities of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status in the MBA Experience

• In Event: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Across Professions

Abstract

I address the ways in which race, gender, and class influence student experiences in elite MBA programs. Data come from a larger project exploring the mechanisms of cultural and class reproduction in elite business schools. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 35 students and graduates, I explore the ways that these differences are addressed. Findings suggest that elite business schools foster a culture that celebrates a notion of diversity that ignores the legacy of race and its associations with class in the U.S. Additionally, almost every woman and African American or Hispanic American interviewed reported experiencing marginalization either in the classroom, at professional events, or while socializing with classmates, which suggests an enduring and exclusionary ‘boys-club’ culture at these institutions.

Author

• Rebecca Shamash, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities