Women with MBAs from Top Schools Are Twice as Likely as Men MBAs to Say They Need Enough Money...

CHICAGO -- At the Same Time, Very Few Women MBAs See Themselves as Sole Breadwinner in a Family; C200 Survey is First Major Study of MBA Students and Graduates on Status of Women in the Business World

More than a quarter (28.2%) of working women who've recently received MBAs from top schools

That's according to a major, new survey of MBAs commissioned by The Committee of 200, an organization of leading women business owners and corporate executives.

"Lone Wolf" Status Increases as Women Leave Business School and Go to Work

In contrast to the large number of women MBA graduates (28.2%) who say they need enough money to support themselves, only 12.7% of women MBA students project they'll need to support themselves alone. Only 2.8% of men MBA students are in that category.

These attitudes are among the findings of a new survey commissioned by C200 of 933 MBA students and 807 MBA graduates who attend or graduated from top business schools.(1) "C200 Report: MBA and Early Career Women on Business" compares MBA women's and men's attitudes about business, careers, compensation, job satisfaction, business skills, work and family and the status of women in the corporate world. The survey was conducted for C200 by the Center for Women's Business Research.

Few MBA Women See Themselves as Family's Breadwinner; the Majority of MBA Men do

Only 15.0% of women with MBAs say they need enough money to support a family on their own. By contrast, the majority of men MBAs (56.6%) say they see themselves as the sole source of financial support.

Nearly half of women MBAs (44.6%) say they need enough money to support a family together with a spouse or partner; 29.6% of men put themselves in that category.

More than one in 10 women MBAs (12.1%) say they need to make no money because someone else will support them; only 0.2% of MBA men say that.

How Prevalent is that Stereotyped Category of Work-Consumed Single Business Women?

C200 Vice Chair Carolee Friedlander, Founder of Carolee Designs, Inc., "It's natural that many women MBAs envision themselves sharing the family financial burdens and potentially taking time away from work to be with the family. But it's very interesting that so many more professional women with MBAs than professional men with MBAs see themselves alone or supporting themselves."

Nonetheless, MBA Women Work Fewer Hours than MBA Men

While more than a quarter of men MBAs (27.4%) say they work 60 hours or more per week, only 15.9% of women MBAs say they burn the midnight oil to that degree.

The majority of MBA women -- 69.8% -- work 40-60 hours per week, similar to men (69.4%). However, more than one in 10 MBA women (12.0%) works 30 hours per week or fewer, compared with 1.6% of men MBAs.

Interestingly men and women MBA students - those still in school - place similar importance on "having enough time to spend with family."

"It's probable that MBA women continue to bear many non-work responsibilities while they pursue their careers; hence the small discrepancy between MBA women and men in the amount of time spent at work," said Ms. Friedlander.

About the Survey

"C200 Report: MBA and Early Career Women on Business" is part of C200's "Pipeline" research, a series of surveys that monitor and explore attitudes toward business, and women in business, on the part of women and men in a continuum of life stages. C200 recently completed a study of teens and will be studying college women.

"C200 Report: MBA and Early Career Women on Business" is based on an analysis of the responses to an online survey of 933 MBA students and 807 MBA graduates, most of whom received their degrees between five and 10 years earlier. All of the respondents were from top business school programs. The study is the first in-depth survey of MBA students and graduates from top schools that compares men's and women's attitudes about business, careers, compensation, job satisfaction, business skills, work and family, business education and the status of women in the corporate world.

For additional findings from and information about the C200 survey, please contact Elizabeth Koons at Sommerfield Communications at 212-255-8386 or via email at elizabeth@sommerfield.com.

About The Committee of 200

The Committee of 200 is the organization of preeminent businesswomen that capitalizes on the success, power and influence of women in the global economy. The mission of The C200 is to exemplify and promote entrepreneurship and corporate leadership among women of this generation and the next. The membership of C200 is comprised of an exclusive group of women business leaders from all industries. Each C200 member has attained or exceeded a specific level of success tied to revenues and industry recognition. The C200 executive offices are located at 980 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3108. C200's website address is: www.c200.org.

(1) Participating schools at the MBA level were: Wharton (The University of Pennsylvania); Tuck (Dartmouth University); University of Michigan; Darden (University of Virginia); Goizueta (Emory University); McCombs (University of Texas at Austin); and Babcock (Wake Forest University). Participating schools at the early career level were: University of Michigan; Darden (University of Virginia); Goizueta (Emory University); McCombs (University of Texas at Austin); and Babcock (Wake Forest University).