| B-SCHOOL |
| RANKINGS |
Based on how women ranked b-schools, we spoke to members of the fairer sex across Indian b-schools campuses to find out what drives their choice of MBA institute reports, Harsh Maskara.
Analysis of voting patterns for women in the rankings survey reveals certain clear trends. Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi are two schools in the top ten for which women have expressed a clear preference. Sectoral schools such as Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA) and Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB), Pune are also ranked two places above their overall ranking. Women voters have indicated that they favour Symbiosis schools such as Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) - Pune and Symbiosis Center for Management and Human Resources Development (SCMHRD), Pune.
Most schools which have been preferred by women have a gender ratio of 1:2 or better. IIFT - Delhi is an exception in this regard. Interestingly enough, in the women rankings this school has been preferred to Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore and Kozhikode. A second year student here explains, "A big advantage is that it is situated in the heart of Delhi as opposed to the IIMs in Kozhikode and Indore. A lot of parents might not want their daughters to go to these IIMs mainly because of the location disadvantage. There aren't too many restrictions here as regards hostels with men and women having common hostels in the first year. Further, an air-conditioned basement which is conveniently located is often used for group project work. A lot of B-schools have strict restrictions as far as this is concerned and women often have to walk to the men's hostels for assignments. The work area provided in the basement hugely helps women in this regard."
Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad has dipped significantly in the women rankings and is ranked at seven which is a drop of three from its overall ranking. While the school is a pioneer in India with its one-year MBA program and unique pedagogy, the reason women rank it low may be due to the institute's eligibility requirement of two or more years of work-experience being pitted against the trend in India of women tending to enter an MBA school soon after graduation, with the marriage deadline looming large. Great Lakes Institute of Management - Chennai is another school with such a criterion and has also experienced a drop in the women rankings.
Symbiosis schools have traditionally had a high proportion of women in their batches. They also have strict campus rules, deadlines and other regulations on campus which result in these institutes being labeled as 'safe'. "The faculty is available 24/7 for help regarding any issue and there are also grievance and sexual harassment cells in place. The institute's environment is very safe and these cells have not had to deal with a single case till date. The campus is self-sufficient with a grocery store, good food and sports facilities. There is no real reason to leave the campus and there is a free bus service which operates between the city and the institute. Girls and boys are not allowed entry into each other's hostels. There are also facilities for parents to stay on campus", says Komita Dabas, a student of SIIB - Pune.
However, students do feel the need for more freedom. A possible reason for this could be that for some students (particularly women), the two years that they spend in MBA college is the first time that they're away from home for a significant period and are living with their peers. It is natural for them to feel the need for independence. Reenu Raina, a student at SIBM - Pune asserts, "After 11:30 PM students (both men and women) are not allowed to leave the hostel building. Other B-schools are not as strict about hostel timings and we even told the college administration to extend the timings but they said that this couldn't be changed as it was policy followed by Symbiosis. The average age of students here is 25-26 and keeping this mind, such rules are not that necessary. The administration however feels itself to be responsible for students and in fact parents do hold them responsible."
Schools such as SCMHRD - Pune, MICA and Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) - Hyderabad offer a balanced gender ratio with the number of men and women in a batch being more or less equal. Reasons for this range from the nature of courses offered at these schools to it being a policy of the institute to maintain such a ratio. A first year student at SCMHRD - Pune says, "An equal gender ratio has been the case here for some time now and probably an effort is made by the college administration to ensure this. SCMHRD is probably one of the few colleges to make such an effort. Another reason for women preferring this college may be that this college has a good reputation for its HR programme. Of course marketing and finance are also taught here but a strong HR programme coupled with a myopic view that HR is primarily for women has probably resulted in a preference amongst women voters." A first year student of MICA adds, "It is a clear policy followed by MICA to maintain a balance and at times women outnumber men here!"
At ICFAI - Hyderabad, the story is a bit more interesting. The first year batch has all of 930 students with a gender ratio of 1:1. However, women constitute merely one-third of the second year batch. A second year student of the institute explains, "This may be because of a strategy followed by the college because they would want full occupancy for all the hostels that have been built. A lot of hospitality companies also recruit from here and since more women usually enter such a field, the management may have decided to increase the intake of women."
Location, campus rules and hostel facilities are allotted a lot of importance by women. Mythreyi Manepalli of Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB) - Bhubaneswar says, "Pune's location is good and unless one asks around, one doesn't really get to know about the strict campus rules. I know for myself that I need freedom and it's a fact that most of the work happens between 11 PM and 5 AM. A lot of people are awake at that time! Location is a major factor to influence people's preference. For instance, given a choice I wouldn't wish to study in Ghaziabad or Delhi because of the crime rate there. IIFT's campus in Delhi is self-sufficient and even IMT's (Institute of Management - Ghaziabad) campus is good but the crime rate in those parts is quite high." Aashrita Poorna of Institute of Management - Nirma University (IMNU), Ahmedabad adds, "I had converts at TAPMI (TA Pai Management Institute - Manipal) and KJ Somaiya Institute of Management and Research - Mumbai too which are ranked above IMNU but I still opted for this institute because the hostel facilities are good for women here. TAPMI does not have a new hostel as of now and apart from good infrastructure at the institute, Ahmedabad is a safe city."
A lot of issues surround B-schools but at the end of it all, an MBA is training ground for a professional career and prepares students to work with big names in the business world. XLRI - Jamshedpur is a school that women rank at number four as compared to its overall ranking of six. Sreedevi Ravi, a student of the Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (PMIR) course at XLRI - Jamshedpur concludes, "Women constitute one-third of the batches here at XLRI. As far as the hostels are concerned, the institute believes that students are mature adults. There are no official timings as such and people are usually back in the campus by 11 PM. This is obviously convenient for group work and project work happens easily. There is an open culture in place here and we realize its importance. It inculcates maturity of thought and we get to judge for ourselves what is good and what is bad. There are no official restrictions as such and we have to impose restrictions of our own will; Just the way it is in the real world."