Q&A: Vlerick introduces grant for aspiring female executives

What is the Female Leadership Grant?
Basically, the Female Leadership Grant is a grant that women can apply for to get a 25% discount for the 18-month Executive MBA programme. We’ve discovered that obtaining company funding to cover the cost of the programme is a bigger issue for females than for males. Many females will pay a larger portion of the programme fees out of their own pocket compared to what males pay. Further to this, workplaces are more likely to pay for males who want to pursue training development. It’s not really conscious discrimination from employers, but we see that this is the reality and we believe that by alleviating some of the financial burden, it will encourage women to participate.

Why did Vlerick Business School decide to focus on females in particular?
Vlerick is focusing on females because we strongly value diversity because we see that it leads to more innovation. One of the ways that we can broaden our thinking is to address gender diversity. There are lots of minorities in society, and women are not a minority, but there are few women in top management positions. We also saw that in our executive MBA programmes, there was an underrepresentation of women as well.

Why are women underrepresented in executive MBA programmes?
For men, the road is often straightforward. Their supervisors suggest an executive MBA to them, or they decide to do it and then do. For women, it’s completely different. They often have discussions with family, their supervisor and take into account their work environment; it’s a bumpier road for females. An executive MBA is a big step in really moving to upper management positions.

What can participants hope to learn?
Participants learn soft skills, such as people management, and also hard skills such as business and finance.  We also want to make sure there is a gender balance in our programmes because we believe it will benefit everyone. There is value in having a diverse classroom, it can make the participants more attuned to gender issues. In this sense, we have an important societal role to fulfil.

Photo courtesy Vlerick Business School