Around 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs are men; corporate board members are far more likely to be male; and among most business schools, women are generally outnumbered. 

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But slowly but surely, gender parity is becoming much more of a reality in full-time MBA programs in the U.S. and around the world.

In 2023, women’s MBA enrollment hit a historic rate of 42%, and five programs have achieved gender parity—according to new research from theForté Foundation. Among them include the business schools at George Washington (65%), Johns Hopkins (51%), and the University of Pennsylvania (50%). The latter ranks No. 3 on Fortune’s Best MBA programs in 2023.

Elissa Sangster, CEO of the Forté Foundation, says in the past half decade or so, there has been steady progress toward gender parity in MBA programs. 

“There’s a lot of places you could go to get an MBA,” she tells Fortune. “There’s a lot of pathways to the top, but we know that the women who are pursuing business leadership, that the MBA is a significant pathway into those top companies, top jobs that have the top pay, and that’s important to make sure that there’s equitable representation of women in business school.”

Of the about five dozen women leading Fortune 500 companies, about half of them hold an MBA.

Gradual progress

For two decades now, the Forté Foundation has worked to increase opportunities for women in business through building a steady pipeline of female leaders as well as debunking misperceptions about business careers as a whole.

The nonprofit, in partnership with more than 50 business schools, have seen substantial increases in enrollment over the years. For example, in 2011, only about 32% of MBA enrollees were female, according to Forté. 

A decade ago, progress would fluctuate back and forth, Sangster says. But in the last few years, there has been steady increases in the right direction.

“We’ve really seen over the last five to seven years, a very steady clip towards parity. And so I think we are most impressed that some of that volatility has gone away, and that we are seeing a steady climb toward 50-50,” she says.

But she also recognizes that when actually sitting in a classroom, it may be hard to tell the difference between 40% parity and 46%, for instance.

“We’re getting to the point now, where if you’re at 40 or above, it’s a pretty good feeling in the classroom,” Sangster notes. “And that’s important because you don’t want everyone showing up to business school and then you look around and you say: I’m the only person in the room that looks like me, has my perspective.”

Today, over 34 schools report full-time MBA enrollment for women at 40%. Among them include top schools like Harvard Business School, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Non-U.S. schools made significant gains this year, according to Forte, with an increase of 3% in women’s enrollment. Overall, Oxford’s Saïd Business School enrolled 51% women and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management enrolled 49%.

Shifting priorities 

Overall, Sangster says many business schools have worked to change the way they present themselves and be more inviting to women and people of color through deliberate recruitment and student involvement.

Students are the biggest influencers in the pipeline, she adds. By including them in things like admission committees and public-facing events, prospective students can feel more encouraged and feel welcomed.

Having more women in the classroom helps things diversity of thought flourish, Sangster notes. Plus, having a diverse and inclusive workforce is an increasing priority for many companies.

It was a common practice 20 years ago for MBA programs to mail out brochures that often featured a white male on the front cover, Sangster says. Now, she adds, schools are diversifying how they are portraying their students and MBA program in their marketing.

Beyond business school, Forté hopes to be able to help women continue to progress their leadership careers in the c-suite, especially in male-dominated fields like finance, technology, and supply chain.

Forté has also led initiatives such as leadership conferences, summits, and an MBALaunch program to help close the gender gap by increasing awareness among schools, companies, and students. The nonprofit has awarded $400 million in scholarships to about 17,000 women pursuing MBAs.

 “I think what’s important for us is clearly to hit parity with business schools, and I don’t think we’re far from that,” Sangster says. “I think that’s totally achievable. Probably in the next five years, we’ll see that number begin to stabilize at 50-50.”