Everyone knows you need higher education to make it in the modern world. Unfortunately, just getting a Bachelors degree no longer cuts it. These days, you need at least a Masters degree if you want to advance in your career. And while not all managerial jobs officially need a postgraduate degree, an increasing number of them are going to those who at least possess an MBA, regardless of whether they are men or women. Compared to a decade ago, men with MBAs no longer significantly outnumber women with MBAs. However, while this imbalance remains, a few private foundations still sponsor MBA grants for women only.
Nowadays, the conditions to qualify for these grants has become much tighter than in the past. Most of these women’s postgraduate scholarships will only be given to those with proven financial need. In addition, there are some which will only be given to minority women. Not only that, but there are educational aid programs with restrictions in the age of the recipient, or some other conditions. Now that more women have become equal to men, these private foundations are more careful in selecting whom they give their money to.
However, despite the increasing restrictions, you can also find more flexibility in these scholarship programs. In some cases, additional fields of postgraduate study have been opened up for sponsorship. More universities and colleges have been added to the list of approved institutions, and the availability of high-quality online instruction makes it easier for busy women and mothers to study for their degrees even while they are working and taking care of their children. Where correspondence courses used to be viewed with some suspicion, the explosion of the internet has made courses of this type (where you do not have to attend regular classes) a lot more acceptable.
So who offers these MBA grants for women? One of these is the Selected Professions Fellowships. For now, they only offer MBA grants to minority women. However, they continue to offer scholarships for other Masters degree courses which remain male-dominated like Architecture, Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics.
Another private charity which offers postgraduate grants to women is the PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization). One of their stated goals is to help women improve their lives through higher education. They have several financial aid programs, including interest-free loans and scholarships for women studying their Masters degrees. One point which distinguishes them from other women’s charities is that they only offer their financial help to women who are recommended by their members. This can put many women out of reach of their help.
On the other hand, women who want to go for postgraduate studies often already have a college degree and a job which pays a decent salary. That means not only can many of them afford to finance their own studies, they can ask their employers for sponsorship. Many larger companies are quite willing to help out as long as the postgraduate course is for a subject related to their major business activities. Of course, this means a woman working in a high-tech, IT, engineering or pharmaceutical company is more likely to receive this kind of assistance.
It makes sense to get a postgraduate education. A Masters degree can open up many avenues of promotion for your career. While pure MBA grants for women may no longer exist, there are still many financial aid programs which give more money to women than men to go for higher studies.
By: Katherin T.
