Item

Women in accounting: Revolution, where art thou?

Vidwans, Mohini
Cohen, DA
Date
2019-10-03
Type
Journal Article
Fields of Research
ANZSRC::1503 Business and Management , ANZSRC::170107 Industrial and Organisational Psychology , ANZSRC::1608 Sociology , ANZSRC::3501 Accounting, auditing and accountability
Abstract
Goldin hypothesised women’s transition from evolution to revolution, where they claimed increasing dominion over their careers. Such change is salient for the professions such as accounting, where gender inequality persists. This qualitative study reports on how a group of 36 male and female accounting professionals employed by Big Four firms and in academia in New Zealand decided to redefine, disassemble and reconstruct their careers. Gender and role expectations strongly influenced their career pathways. Despite spousal and organisational support, most females in the study retained a flexible focus on career. These decisions were mainly influenced by how they thought about life, work, and career, and relationships with significant others. These results re-confirm traditional career patterns and to an extent, broader traditional gender role expectations in the profession. Acknowledging that inequality in the accounting profession appears entrenched makes it clear that the changes Goldin hypothesised have not yet been fully fulfilled.
Rights
© The Author(s) 2019
Creative Commons Rights
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