Both the HBS Admissions Office and the Boston Network have focused some recruitment efforts on women.

"With the admissions office we cosponsored an event here in Boston that was part of a pilot program," Gilbert says.

Any and all women interested in HBS were invited to attend a panel discussion on the school, its opportunities, and the trials it presents to students and women in particular, she says.

The Aldus/C200 case study initiative probably will not attract women applicants, but may change the atmosphere at HBS, according to Achenbaum.

"All I know is that it will definitely have an impact on the learning in the classrooms," she says. "I can't say that it's going to directly affect the number of women that apply to the school."

Professional Myths

Organizers of the reception and other recruiting strategies say they are trying to dispel myths about HBS, which is often seen as a hostile and difficult place for women to study.

In fact, the HBS Women's Student Association (WSA) includes 95 percent of female students, and 85 percent of men, according to co-chair Julia A. Clarkson.

Their mission is "to ensure that women succeed at HBS and beyond" through ten committees that sponsor a variety of activities and support programs for women.

According to Gilbert, potential students often have the impression that the intensity of the Business School's academic program inhibits women's success.

But she says it is very difficult to flunk out, despite the competition and ranking system, which grades on a forced curve.

In addition, Gilbert says there is actually a good sense of camaraderie between the sexes at HBS.

Gilbert, who worked in the art community before returning to school, says she was "reeling at the investment bankers" who came to HBS prepped for the fast-paced case study method. But the same men who were intimidating at first helped Gilbert and her female colleagues in one of their first-year classes.

"These guys every day before class helped me understand the concepts of each case," Gilbert says. "They would walk [several female students] through just the very basic steps of evaluating a company."

"These supposedly cutthroat bankers reached out and helped me," she says.