Category: The Duke CC-MBA 2012 class is an amazingly diverse group, full of people from across the globe and cutting across industries. Our class has 28% women, a number higher than most MBA programs. So what I am about to say may come as a bit of a shock to many. The Duke CC-MBA like most MBA programs is lacking one key demographic. Mothers.
By just doing a quick review of our class Facebook page I’ve come up with some unscientific numbers. Out of the 156 students, 24 men are fathers and only 3 of the women are mothers. I don’t believe this is a problem at an organization level that is creating this phenomenon. What I believe is that when women become mothers they take on what is a second and sometimes a third job. All the doctors’ visits, the carpool pick up lane, the parent teacher meetings, play dates, birthday parties, soccer games, bath times, bed time stories, dinners, and so much more are added to the daily to do list of even the most successful woman. While it’s true fathers have that same list of to do’s added, what our demographics show is that for most women it’s hard to add on the additional task of self-investment.
So on this Mother’s Day I want to take a brief pause to thank all the wonderful mothers who have made the CC-MBA possible.
- To the mothers in our program, you have taken on yet another full time job of gaining your MBA, in addition to your career and in addition to your job as a mother. You are showing all of us, and most importantly those mothers considering an MBA, that it can be done.
- To the wives of the men in our program, you have taken over many of the to do’s your husband would take on as a father for these 16 months so your husband can pursue his degree. The bed time stories you tell while he is studying for a Finance mid-term and the Skype calls you make to him with the kids during residency, you do so your family will one day benefit. We as classmates recognize your contribution to our program. We thank you for loaning your husbands to us as classmates so that we can learn from them, and after seeing so many of them turn in strong deliverables while missing their family, we know that the sacrifice you make during these 16 months will be worth it.
- To the mothers of each CC-MBAer, who instilled in us the values of hard work and drive for something greater. The foundations of global leadership started long before we arrived at Duke. So thank you to each of the mothers who believed that we were leaders of consequence long before a degree ever proved the point.
- To all the hopeful CC-MBA mothers thinking of applying and wondering how you can manage yet another set of responsibilities, I want to encourage you that the Duke family and in particular the CC-MBA program, is full of people who support you in your endeavor and are anxious for the opportunity to learn from women of your caliber.
So with that, I wish everyone a Happy Mothers’ Day!
MBA mothers, mom, mother, mothers day, wives, 
