Seven reasons for women to do an MBA - Women's Agenda

Seven reasons for women to do an MBA

Partner content, presented in association with Swinburne Online.

Studying an MBA is about much more than listing a new qualification on your LinkedIn profile or earning a higher salary.

It’s about acquiring knowledge, life-long contacts and a new way of thinking that will transform your career. It’ll develop your strategic, leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

According to Swinburne Online Unit Coordinator Annie McDonald, women particularly witness major shifts in how they think while studying an MBA.

“I see students who have massive ‘ah ha!’ moments about themselves, people who address long term behaviours that they hadn’t seen and hadn’t recognised the need to change,” she says, an observation she makes teaching two leadership units, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the degree.

“They’re massive, wonderful insights around the way they deal with conflict, or the way they’re perceived by others, or that they’re being too nice in the workplace.”

She says she also sees a significant transformation in confidence levels. “I see women change throughout the course, they’re stepping up and contributing with confidence and conviction.”

With three subjects to go, Swinburne Online MBA student Jo Bright agrees studying has raised her confidence levels. Returning to university after having five children, she’s balancing online study with full-time work.

“It’s condensed learning, it’s like learning on steroids!” she says. “But it’s really driven me and focused me from both a work and learning perspective. It’s also given me the confidence to push back, I no longer feel I have to prove myself as much … And to be doing this with work and family all at the same time, I think it says a lot.”

For ambitious professionals, an MBA can be transformative. Below are seven benefits women enjoy while studying.

1. A changed (and enhanced) perspective. An MBA can be an intense learning experience, putting you in contact with a wide range of people and challenging you to rethink leadership, strategy and innovation. An MBA won’t teach you one, single way to think; rather it will push you to think from a wide range of different perspectives.

2. Global knowledge. Time poor and busy, it’s easy to get stuck in your own world of work, with little opportunity to reflect on the broader picture. An MBA immediately takes you out of that zone, asking you to think about the broader economy and the global impact of how we live and work. Such global thinking can also be used to help solve your more immediate and local challenges, giving you practical knowledge you can implement at work.

3. A diverse network. Many MBA students cite this as their number one reason for completing an MBA, and for good reason. The intensity and group work required of MBA subjects pushes you to build communities amongst fellow students, and to develop deep relationships based on shared knowledge and ideas. Most MBA students have also spent time in the workforce in leadership positions, putting them in contact with ambitious professionals from a wide range of industries.

4. Greater leadership impact. An MBA can equip you with the knowledge you need to become a better leader. It’ll challenge you to consider how you lead, why you lead and what you can do to inspire others. It will also challenge you to address your own leadership weaknesses. Whether or not you manage people, or simply lead on ideas and initiatives, a MBA will equip you with the skills you need to generate serious impact.

5. Love learning for life. An MBA is transformative, but the transformation doesn’t stop upon graduation. Equipped with a new way of thinking, new skills, and new networks, students also graduate with a life-long habit and appetite for education. They understand the significant benefits of continuous learning, and develop the habits to make it a part of their lives.

6. Transform your life and career. Swinburne Online Unit Coordinator Annie McDonald says she regularly witnesses major transformations in the attitudes and behaviours of students. She sees it in their confidence levels, their leadership perspectives, and their enthusiasm for participating in class tasks. “I see a lot of change in careers as the students are going through their units,” she says. “It’s not uncommon to change roles, to get promotions, or to end up working for a company that’s more supportive … It’s not just career changing, it’s life changing. They learn about leadership and think, ‘I can apply this at home, with my siblings, my friends, with every interaction I have with people. I can’t speak highly enough about the potential for life transformation that comes out of this.”

7. Gain a higher salary. Greater earning potential is an obvious benefit of studying an MBA. Such an increase in salary does not necessarily come from the piece of paper the degree’s written on, but rather the career and life transformation students experience from studying. If you’re enjoying all of the above benefits of an MBA then a higher salary – or more success financially with your own business or consulting work – should follow.

Swinburne offer a number of postgraduate degrees in education and business that will help you achieve your goals. Studying through Swinburne Online means you get a Swinburne University of Technology degree, without having to compromise work, family and other commitments. 

Applications for our July intake close Friday 1 July, 2016, so contact us today to find out more. Course consultants are available to answer any of your questions on 1300 069 765 or via email

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