Where is the visible commitment to gender in the advertised content of UK management degree programmes?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which prospective students can see a visible commitment to study gender in the UK business/management school curriculum prior to enrolment. A content analysis of the descriptions of modules offered as part of business and management degrees offered by 112 UK universities was conducted. The analysis was restricted to the publicly available information on the websites visible to prospective students. Descriptive statistics re the distribution of gender topics across programmes and HEIs are presented in addition to university group affiliation (e.g. Russell Group), and accreditation in respect of variables. The analysis reveals significant gaps in the undergraduate and taught postgraduate offerings of UK business schools that we suggest are reflective of subject silos, and institutional risk reduction strategies. We conclude by arguing that accreditation bodies can use their influence to leverage change and to ensure gender content becomes core to curriculum design and its visibility as part of the practice of management to prospective students. This study provides a benchmark for the visibility of gender as an issue and perspective within UK business/management school offerings.