B-schools find it tough to get in more women

Institutions struggle to ensure at least half of their students are women

- Pratishtha Bagai

The gender ratio in India's top business schools has been a mixed bag the past five years, with several premier management institutions struggling to ensure that at least half of their students are women.

While the percentage of women students enrolled at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in Lucknow and Calcutta has dropped since 2020, other centers of India's premier business school have reported modest increases.

"I have observed that having mentors, seniors, role models, like, in this case, more women faculty, attracts younger women students," said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head of the education and skill development practice at KPMG in India.