An Analysis of Gender Inequality in the Accounting Profession

This essay delves into the persistent issue of gender inequality within the accounting profession, a global concern impacting firms' sustainability and overall societal well-being. It highlights the historical context of gender discrimination and examines the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles and the slow progression of women in accounting firms compared to their male counterparts. The essay identifies key contributing factors, including conflicts between work and family responsibilities, lack of female role models and career guidance, and cultural biases. It proposes solutions such as promoting women's advancement, providing networking and mentorship opportunities, advocating for women's leadership, and addressing systemic barriers to ensure equal opportunities and career development for women in the accounting field. The essay emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusive leadership initiatives to foster a more equitable and thriving accounting profession. The author provides comprehensive analysis and research to support the arguments and proposes ways to address the global issue of gender inequality in accounting profession.

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GENDER INEQUALITY IN ACCOUNTING PROFESSION
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GENDER INEQUALITY IN ACCOUNTING PROFESSION
The gender inequality in accounting profession remains a global issue where shared
responsibility for the common good is never being realized. For centuries, gender discrimination
and inequality, usually towards women has persisted. At 1 point or another, in various countries,
laws have denied women their right to go school, to hold property, to travel, and even to enter
accounting profession amongst many others. Right from 1960s, American society has effected
great progress towards gender equality (Siboni et al. 2016). The rate of women’s employment
has increased dramatically, gender discrimination in both education and employment remains an
illegality, and women currently surpass men in rates of graduation from colleges.
Nevertheless, gender inequality stays in the US. One single most kind of gender
inequality mostly debated and will be dealt with in this paper is that if workplace whereby it has
been established that women who are hired in the public accounting firms do not progress up the
ranks as swiftly or in similar volumes as men in the same field. Three primary reasons have been
attached to this issue: One most apparent and usually-debated is the conflict between
responsibilities outdoor workplace and deep commitment of time which has remained a
requirement historically in order for women to continue progressing in accounting firms.
Albeit the men’s role in various societies or communities is altering to encompass
increased devotion to family, female accountants still overall, show an increased roles and
responsibilities outdoor workplace that they increasingly noted mismatched with present
organization as well as professional norms. Another contributor relates to a visibility lack which
is twofold: There is lack of adequate role models (female) whereas female leaders remain not as
visible as men leaders. The lack of visibility’s impacts remains an extremely substantial and
undervalued share of this disparity.

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In absence of female role-models to illustrate significant elements of accounting
professional development like integration of work-life, styles of leadership alongside business
development, female counterparts in accounting profession usually restrict respective aspirations
thus concluding they are unable to prosper because they don’t feel identified with both style as
well as approaches of masculine-models. The other factor relates to the career guidance
alongside navigation. A great number of women, for many of the palpable reasons, don’t have
same accessibility to career development as well as advocacy-relationships with their executive
leaders in the organization comparative to male colleagues.
Ambition, for instance, appears difficult for female workers to showcase as competitive
conduct or behavior always tends observed as increasingly appropriate for males as opposed to
females. Cultural aspects that firms need to address and critical arears of building of skills as
well as awareness of careers that female deserve access to remain interwoven with the above
barriers and issues. This has made common good principle to be unmet as women remain
discriminated against in the profession.
Ways to Address Challenge
The women progress’s absentia in this profession remains a global problem with
immense potential of impacting firms’ sustainability where directed efforts to boost women’s
retention as well as development remain unpursued. Global business concerns affected by this
progression absentia of about half of present pool of talent entail sustainable models for growth,
sustainable models for succession planning, viable strategies for exit, underlying cost of loss of
high-potential talent or their stagnation augmented essentials for diversity in gender which
denotes pool of talent as well as market place shifting and escalated necessity for such diversity
at level of leadership to widen models of leadership. Past an apparent economic aspects which

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need to force organizations to ensure retention of the experienced female professionals,
accounting organizations in several nations are yet to widen respective talent-development as
well as programs for retention in that women with experience have more to be gained if they
commit to long-run career than to lose. Such organization are yet to adequately learn that an
increased cost exists with regards to drain in talent, to never guaranteeing women with talents
blossom at the one level as males (Haynes 2017).
No matter the nation or culture whereby an accounting organization is operated, in case a
substantial proportion of novel hires remain females, vital actions will ensue that it shall be
forced to consider to escape economic issues resulting in case such females exit or fail to
continually develop: A firm has to take into account case issues of business linked to progression
absentia of half of firm’s talents; a business has to encourage profession as well as organizations
to probe respective business cases. This should include: cost suffered by loss/stagnation of a
higher share of women with experience already developed by firms for many years.
Tests exist for organization aspiring considerable growth as well as retention of a shared
culture. Such organizations shall guarantee that talented and experienced women full develop
into leaders with experience with enterprise broad viewpoint to match the pace as well as back
the organization development and growth (Lee-Cooke and Xiao 2014). Leadership success issues
that compel several accounting organizations to sell, alongside increased severity in case an
organization loses its finest alongside utmost talented females continually must be relooked at
effectively. Also, the possible loss of the organization entry to novel market as it shifts to denote
novel demographics should also be relooked at effectively.
The firms must as well be encouraged to closely examine latent obstacles as highlighted
overhead, visibility absentia among women role models, access lack and work-life integration to

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guarantee the provision of development as well advocacy experiences supporting successful
navigation of career.
Advocacy will remain very essential in promoting women leadership. This is because it is
true that women perspective in the profession remain critical in winning in the market. Thus,
accounting firms must remain committed to empower women via the promotion of women
programs as well as inclusive leadership initiatives. This will be achieved by investing in high
potential female talent to guarantee women and men get similar opportunities to hit their
potential. This should include more women in the senior management as well as admission of
more women to partnerships each year. This should go beyond mere fast-tracking women to
leadership positions or even setting mere quotas. It should be about guaranteeing that high
potential women talent have increased access to opportunities needed by them to hit their full
potential. This will be achieved through such tools as networking as well as finding mentors
alongside sponsors for women (Gascoigne, Parry and Buchanan 2015).
Also, accounting firms must increasingly and pro-actively advocate for the women
advancement outside their organizations. Initiatives like support for World Economic Forum will
be essential in developing a global repository of successful practices in advancing women
(Flynn, Earlie and Cross 2015). The stellar achievements of women entrepreneurs must as be
recognized as well as help women achievers to realize their full potential within the business
surrounding.
Concussion
The implementation of many ways discussed in this paper by accounting firms will help
address this global issue of gender inequality in accounting profession. Firms need to implement
the above mentioned proposed ways to ensure common good is met. Both firms and women

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stands to benefit if the talented, experienced and potential women are hired, promoted and
retained in the organization to achieve their full potential.

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References
Flynn, A., Earlie, E.K. and Cross, C., 2015. Gender equality in the accounting profession: one
size fits all. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 30(6), pp.479-499.
Gascoigne, C., Parry, E. and Buchanan, D., 2015. Extreme work, gendered work? How extreme
jobs and the discourse of ‘personal choice’perpetuate gender inequality. Organization, 22(4),
pp.457-475.
Haynes, K., 2017. Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical
accounting research on gender. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 43, pp.110-124.
Lee Cooke, F. and Xiao, Y., 2014. Gender roles and organizational HR practices: The case of
women's careers in accountancy and consultancy firms in China. Human Resource
Management, 53(1), pp.23-44.
Siboni, B., Siboni, B., Sangiorgi, D., Sangiorgi, D., Farneti, F., Farneti, F., de Villiers, C. and de
Villiers, C., 2016. Gender (in) accounting: insights, gaps and an agenda for future
research. Meditari Accountancy Research, 24(2), pp.158-168.