Increased support for attracting women, Black and mixed Black heritage students and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds will significantly increase the richness and diversity of our student body. Our effort to build scholarship programmes in support of these under-represented populations reflects our long-standing commitment to diversity. A number of early Campaign gifts have already helped start a movement towards these critical priorities.
Busie is an exceptional scholarship recipient – with a story marked by hardship. “These four walls gave me the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and deprivation, which stole my youth. I am confident, that my time at LBS will be the ultimate catalyst, to changing my life and story forever,” says Busie.
London Business School and the Laidlaw Foundation share a commitment and a joint vision – to help exceptional women to excel in their careers, regardless of their background.
“I believe the MBA will help me build a network of people who are passionate about improving the world and fighting for equality.”
Tinan Goli – MBA2022 Laidlaw Scholar
“The Laidlaw Scholarship Fund is a brilliant opportunity and it’s so important when it comes to levelling the playing field for future business leaders.”
Dilnora Mirulatova MiM2021 Laidlaw Scholar
“The work and purpose of the Laidlaw Foundation is so inspiring. It’s such an honour (to have received the Scholarship). I truly believe in the value of diversity.”
Gigi Jia – EMBAL2021 Laidlaw Scholar
The Laidlaw Women’s Leadership Fund at London Business School is supporting 120 outstanding female scholars across the Masters in Management, MBA and EMBA programmes since 2020, made possible by two generous gifts totalling £7.38m from the Laidlaw Foundation.
After supporting 60 outstanding female scholars over the past three years, the Laidlaw Women’s Leadership Fund will continue to offer tuition fee support to 20 women each year for the next three years. This renewed gift continues to strengthen our ambition for gender parity across our degree programmes and creates a dynamic network between graduating classes.
This Fund aims to increase the proportion of women in senior leadership roles in business or on executive boards globally by attracting exceptional women from a diverse range of backgrounds, in particular women who may not otherwise be able to afford a top-tier business education. Our scholars have had significant successes at LBS so far – recent co-presidents of the Women in Business and Out in Business clubs were both Laidlaw scholarship recipients.
Increasing diversity is vital for global business. We need leaders who bring different experiences that will shape a positive future.
Black people are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions. As a leading business school that fuels the pipeline for such roles, LBS is in an influential place to drive change. To promote the representation, well-being, and advancement of Black professionals in business, the LBS Black in Business Club launched in 2020. Shortly after, to fuel momentum of the Club’s works, LBS created a Black in Business Scholarship to help drive real change.
Our ambition is to increase the representation of Black and mixed Black heritage students to 15% of our student body. Achieving 15% will put us ahead of many of our peers, reflecting our ambition to truly harnesses the value of diversity in all its forms.
Sustainability is vital. Black in Business Scholarships are awarded to those who intend to actively contribute to racial equality during their time here. We are also committed to developing the pipeline of talented Black students by partnering with organisations working at undergraduate level and earlier.
Recent graduate and Black in Business Scholarship recipient Anneke Gustafson MiM2022 (pictured above) is now exploring a career in the social impact space, thanks to the experience gained at LBS. “I was elected VP for Community of the Black in Business Club, which allowed me access to social and professional networks that will influence my future opportunities. The Black community at LBS is strong and has been a place of refuge and resources… the insights the Black community has provided have eased my transition into professional networks.”
“This newly launched Scholarship drives us towards our aspiration of becoming the leader in terms of a diverse and inclusive student community.”
Arnold Longboy, Executive Director of Recruitment and Admissions at LBS, said the Black in Business Scholarship would play a key role in shaping the School’s future.
“This newly launched Scholarship drives us towards our aspiration of becoming the leader in terms of a diverse and inclusive student community,” he said.
Co-founders of LBS’s Black in Business Club, Tabria Lenard MBA2021 and Cole Agbede MBA2021, said the Scholarship would enable more emerging and established Black business leaders to access the life-changing benefits of business education.
