Stanford Business

MAY 2007


Letter to the Editor


Your article about women MBAs [February issue] was long overdue but is, I hope, just the beginning of the discussion.

Professor James Baron taught that “situations are powerful.” You underemphasized the power of the situation that most women MBAs are in. Most will marry partners with equally advanced degrees and aspirations, and then most will have more than one child. Having two demanding jobs in this family situation is simply not tenable for most people.

I, like many other parents with professional training who are not in the paid workforce, devote significant amounts of time to keeping the wheels on the bus of the school system. Two of the most competent women from my business school class are “not working” and both are the presidents of their respective PTAs, a position that requires prodigious fundraising and communication skills. I also work, without pay, on a library campaign that requires a thorough knowledge of marketing, data analysis, stakeholder and election politics, and strategy.

Another area in which unpaid MBAs add value is to the extended family. I often help family members analyze, negotiate, and budget for financial decisions such as real estate sales, investment adviser selections, car purchases, household budgeting, investment objectives and allocations, and insurance and loan choices.

I suggest that subsequent articles include what MBA skills graduates are using, regardless of gender or employment status.

Alison Cormack, MBA ’93
Palo Alto, CA