ManishaNagarkoti
Why is the CAT exam dominated by male Engineering graduates?
"If you check the CAT registration statistics, you’ll notice that the number of male applicants is significantly higher than the number of female candidates. MP Ram Mohan, professor and CAT 2021 Convenor, IIM Ahmedabad, says, “It is fairly logical that because of the bigger pool of male applicants applying, there is a sustained consistency in male candidates scoring better in huge numbers.”
“Successful female applicants are underrepresented in the CAT results since fewer females take the exam than male candidates,” argues Arks Srinivas, chief faculty at Career Launcher. Only about 35% of females take the CAT, compared to 65% of males. Male candidates with engineering experience continue to dominate the top positions, since they have an advantage over applicants with non-technical credentials. After BTech, BCom, BSc, and finally BBA are the most popular degrees in CAT.
He emphasizes that the IIMs and top MBA institutes are pushing female applicants to take the CAT by giving them additional incentives in order to increase the male-female ratio in business schools.