Career stories of women professional accountants

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the use of Simone de Beauvoir's feminist existentialist philosophy in an empirical research study concerned with the career choices of women professional accountants.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework, based on de Beauvoir's philosophy, is developed. It is argued that her feminist philosophy provides an appropriate theoretical lens for the study of careers. The challenges encountered in developing this approach together with their resolution are described.FindingsThe theoretical framework informs the analysis and critique of the stories of career told by 13 women chartered accountants. Multiple meanings for the oft‐reported categories for leaving public accounting surface, extending the women‐in‐accounting literature.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of a structured tool may obscure certain aspects of career or unduly highlight other aspects. The framework should be used in future studies of the careers of women professionals, e.g. lawyers and minority groups, such as men of colour to assess its contribution beyond the current study.Practical implicationsThe generated insights can be used by the accounting firms to develop alternative human resources policies and practices in an effort to retain women accountants and by the profession in assessing the nature of the work.Originality/valueThe development of a research methodology incorporating individual voices, the role of personal agency in career and feminist existentialism, all of which are often absent from the research concerned with women accountants provides a more in‐depth understanding of careers and a way forward for further research on the subject.

Accounting Research Within the Framework of Feminist Theory

“…Lacan adopted what could be described as a structuralist interpretation of Freud, where Lacan, along with other contemporary social theorists, saw humans as "shaped by language." Wallace (2009) employed personal narratives in her research. Both the researcher and women as social actors with specific experiences were inseparable components of the study.…”

“…On the other hand, Wallace (2009) discusses discrimination faced by women in the accounting profession using an existential feminist perspective. The firm excessively emphasizes the biological differences between male and female professional staff while overlooking the day-to-day processes and unwritten rules in the firm that privilege some groups over others.…”

Career progression of women auditors in Tanzania: coping with the masculinity in audit firms

“…Studies have increasingly focused on the career progression of women in the accountancy profession (Broadbent, 2016;Evans and Rumens, 2022;Haynes, 2017;Khalifa, 2013;Kornberger et al, 2010;Sian et al, 2020). Most provide historical accounts of how women have been constrained from entering the accountancy profession by discriminatory structures and practices in the workplace (Broadbent and Kirkham, 2008;Loft, 1992;Shackleton, 1999;Wallace, 2009), as a result of which, few females reach the highest ranks of the accountancy profession (Dambrin and Lambert, 2012;Gammie and Gammie, 1997;Lupu, 2012;Ramdhony et al, 2013;Twomey et al, 2002). Increasing debate on female accountants' career progression has identified internal and external factors responsible for women's under-development in the accountancy profession.…”

“…, 2020). Most provide historical accounts of how women have been constrained from entering the accountancy profession by discriminatory structures and practices in the workplace (Broadbent and Kirkham, 2008; Loft, 1992; Shackleton, 1999; Wallace, 2009), as a result of which, few females reach the highest ranks of the accountancy profession (Dambrin and Lambert, 2012; Gammie and Gammie, 1997; Lupu, 2012; Ramdhony et al. , 2013; Twomey et al.…”