Risk Aversion as a Driver Of Gender Differences in Business Education

It is an oft-visited topic that women have long been under-represented in the sciences and engineering. While the numbers are not as dramatic as in engineering and the sciences, business schools have similar gender imbalances. To explore this gender-divergence issue, we will present evidence of an empirical study involving over 550 students (about 250 online and 300 regular classroom students). We use a rich data set that includes standard university data for each student, such as degree(s) earned, GPA, grades in critical courses (such as accounting, communications, finance, math, etc.), gender, and age. Additionally, for each student, we have survey results on her/his learning styles and a measure of personal risk aversion. The motivation for including the risk aversion measure stems from the large body of evidence in the investments field that males and females tend to have much different risk attitudes and investment patterns. Our intent is that the results of this study can be used for more-effective academic advising for students and/or enhanced career exploration earlier in a student\u27s college career