University of California strives to attract more women to their MBA program

Schools such as the University of California, Los Angeles are striving to increase the number of women enrolled in their MBA programs.

This year, only about 34 percent of MBA degree holders are women, according to PayScale.

One college that has seen the effects of an underrepresented female population is the University of California, Los Angeles, according to The Daily Bruin. While the number of women who are enrolled in their MBA program has jumped 10 percent in recent years, the female students are still a vast minority.

Mae Jennifer Shores, assistant dean of MBA admissions and financial aid, told the news outlet that fewer women apply for the program. She believes this could be because there is a stigma that businesswomen can only work in consulting and investment banking. Additionally, women who would enter this type of master's degree program are also at the age when they could be starting a family, Shores said.

In order to encourage women to enter the field of business, the school and the Fort Foundation is sponsoring a career lab, which will target undergraduates. This program will teach females the career options they will have once they earn a business degree. It will also feature a panel of businesswomen who aim to show others how higher education can assist a working woman.