CAT 2026: How top IIMs factor gender diversity into MBA admission; criteria explained

Several top Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) award gender diversity points during the shortlisting and final selection for admission to their Master of Business Administrative (MBA) programmes, giving an advantage to women candidates appearing for the Common Admission Test (CAT).

Though CAT scores carry the highest weightage for admission to top management programmes, several B-schools do not consider the performance in the entrance test as the sole factor for final admission.

The gender diversity factor for admission to MBA programmes at top IIMs can improve a woman candidate’s profile score. However, they still have to meet other criteria such as CAT cut-offs, among other factors.

Every IIMs have different levels of importance to gender diversity points, CAT scores, personal interview, and work experience.

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IIM Ahmedabad’s gender diversity weightage

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad) follows gender diversity in its application rating, whereas IIM Jammu has gender diversity as part of its profile score only.

Candidates seeking admission to various MBA programmes at IIM Ahmedabad through CAT 2026, will be shortlisted on the basis of composite score that combines CAT performance and application rating.

It considers Class 10 and 12 marks, graduation, work experience and gender diversity. As per the criteria for the academic session 2026-28, CAT marks will carry 65% weightage and the remaining 35% at the initial shortlisting stage.

However, for the final selection at IIM Ahmedabad, the priority weightage will be given to the personal interview round. The final scores will be a combination of 50% PI, 25% CAT scores, 10% as the Written Ability Test (WAT), and the rest 15% as application rating, including academic performance, work experience and gender diversity.

Notably, the top management institute, as per the NIRF ranking 2025, IIM Ahmedabad, has also increased its minimum CAT cut-offs for the 2026-28 batch.

Now, general category candidates require CAT percentile of 95, and a minimum 85 percentile in each section. The rest are 90 for Non-Creamy Layer - Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC), 85 for Scheduled Caste (SC), and 75 for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

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IIM Jammu gives 28% weightage to profile score

IIM Mumbai, ranked 6th in the NIRF ranking 2025, also gives highest weightage to CAT scores for the final selection. The final composite score consists of 60% CAT marks, 20% personal interview and 20% academic performance and work experience.

On the other hand, IIM Jammu gives lesser weightage to CAT scores as compared to other IIMs, and includes gender diversity in its profile scores.

The final selection at IIM Jammu is based on 42% CAT score, 30% personal interview, and 28% profile weightage.

The profile score for IIM Jammu MBA admissions include 10 marks for Class 10, 12, and graduation performance, 10 marks for work experience and up to eight marks for gender diversity.

Gender diversity factor at 40% for IIM Sirmaur

Similarly IIM Sirmaur also provides strong gender diversity points, giving an advantage to women candidates seeking MBA admissions. Notably, the management institute gives 30% weightage to CAT scores, 20% to personal interview and 10% to WAT accounts.

While, the remaining 40% is based on academic performance, work experience, and the gender diversity factor.