But its also personal - its about how being a woman affects my decision to go to a  B-School and indeed, affects the panel's decision to accept me.

Having spent 4 years in an engineering class of 70 boys and 3 girls (including me), I can safely tell you that it takes grit to stand your own in a male dominated geek world. It's easy to assume that the guys with all their high-flown jargon actually know what they're talking about, its even easier to assume you can never match up to them. I flunked out of one exam in the 88 I took over those four years - because the instructor refused to believe it was me who had actually designed that circuit. He was convinced I had pilfered it off a presumably more solder-savvy male classmate. But it really does come down to whether you allow yourself to be convinced that your brain is biologically not quite as well cut out for the job as theirs. For many promising girls, I saw their intelligence and potential being cut down by half only because they allowed themselves to believe that girls are all about exam oriented academics and not about getting their hands dirty with real life subject matter.

As a female engineering student, I faced the following challenges:

• Stereotyping and preconceptions of women's roles and abilities - there were those who believed a woman couldn't have a career at all and there were those who believed women could only have a career in non-technical media/fine arts/HR roles (creditably many of the latter also felt women did a better job in these roles). I have been lucky to have come across some enlightened souls who do take women on the same intellectual platform.
• Exclusion from the informal boys' gang where many stimulating discussions and "experiments" were carried out
• Exclusion from the boys' hostel where mentoring and night long chats led to significant career prospects and knowledge transfer
• A greater sense of commitment to personal/partner/family responsibilities than to a career (this part of my personality was quite hidden even to myself till about a year ago).

It came as no surprise that here in Australia, this gap has been identified and there are special women engineering groups and government policies to help women get back to work. Eg, Part time and work-from-home policies (extremely feasible especially in the IT world where all you need is a coffee and a computer), networking events for women, voluntary support groups, paternity leave so mommy doesnt have to do all the baby sitting etc.

Now as I think of  B-school I wonder.  A quick google search identifies the following roadblocks for female B-School wannabes:

• Lack of workplace mentorship (again, old boys' network and Friday night beer chats)
• Belief of senior management that even potentially fantastic lady managers will not want to pursue a high pressure job (they need to get back home early, they won't do overtime on weekends etc)
• The biological clock. The average ago of an MBA applicant is 28. By that age, aunts, mums and married friends are all over you to get hitched.
• Fear of math (I know, weird! You might as well assume men can't be well versed in fine arts!)
• Women find it hard to gain credibility as a full-fledged professional rather than a team member who is there to supplement her family's income.

And these are the top tips for women who want to make it to B-schools, sourced from by women who've done it and B-schools that are keen to improve their intra-class dating ratios:

• Money matters - be savvy about personal finance, negotiate your salary.
• Keep it pink - you don't have to be one of the boys or go all short skirts and lace frills. Be professional but don't try to think like a man. A woman brings a different viewpoint to any situation - viewpoints that are as valuable (there is a reason B-schools want the ladies there).
• Take your personal life out of the office - no coochie coo calls at the workplace, no gossiping and definitely no flirting.
• Knowledge is power - Nothing beats expertise - it forces people to consult you and showcases your skills. Stay on top of current trends in your field.
• Network, network, network. On the job, in the family, with the school gang, and even online.
• Seek and you shall receive - research shows that leaders - male or female - have one overriding trait - the desire to be a leader. If you know your boss appreciates your skills, let him know you're interested in being a team leader. He'll keep it in mind the next time he has a recruitment meeting with senior management. And remember, all companies are looking to diversify their management portfolio genderwise - it makes the company look good. A friend of mine at IIM Kolkata once told me any girl getting through the CAT preliminary had a 50% higher chance of getting through the interview - simply because she was competing with a much smaller demographic.

Now what surprises me is that there are 2 fields that have had no trouble incorporating women in their taskforce as well-respected equals - law and medicine. So why are the technical and the management fields still so dicey? Let me have a think, I'll come back to you soon.