Harvard Business School (HBS) recognizes there is a problem in the business world. Every year, they graduate some of the best and brightest business minds. Yet, the gender of their graduates and their experience at HBS seems to have an incredibly strong relationship. Even though the women attending their school are just as qualified and intelligent as the men, their grades, scores and participation in classes tends to be lacking. Furthermore, HBS has a extremely hard time recruiting female professors to teach their courses due to the amount of sexual harassment they receive from their male students. It is sometimes intimidating for young business women to teach male students who are sometimes older than themselves.

HBS decided that it was time for a change. With the class of 2013, they begun implementing mandatory participation workshops, increased punishment for sexual harassment and escalated efforts to deter the heavy elitist drinking culture. Though heavily marauded by students for what some considered “pointless efforts”, it was a huge success. Participation and tests scores of female students increased dramatically.

As a female business student myself, I think the inequality and harassment found in some business schools and different career fields is deplorable. Women, especially those fortunate enough to attend Harvard Business School, should have the courage to break barriers. The attempt by HBS to level the playing field, though controversial, were steps in the right direction. The inequality found surrounding careers, pay and overall success in business should be nonexistent in this day and age. In pushing their female students to make that change, HBS was doing itself as well as its students a favor.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-25/harvard-business-school-grads-weigh-in-on-gender-inequality