Strategies to Overcome the Problems of Women in Accounting - Literature review Example

The accounting profession has been criticized for marginalizing and ‘silencing’ some groups, such as women and ethnic minorities (Gallhofer 1998; Kim 2004). Critically evaluate accounting research on the role of women and/or ethnic groups in accounting, with reference to feminist and/or emancipator perspectives. When answering the specific question, your discussion should be put in the context to, and refer to the important role of accounting and the accounting profession in modern society. Nature of accounting and its role According to Broadbent (1988), accounting holds a central place in western capitalism. It is also being seen as an important tool for ‘‘modernising’’ the newly emerging economies in Eastern Europe and Asia. Its role in market capitalism is in providing accountability to shareholders and other stakeholders to enable them to make decisions about investment in the company and in justifying internal decisions about the nature of organisational activity. In the Public Sector it is used increasingly to justify how national resources are spent in providing services to citizens. Implicit in the increasing adherence to accounting is a belief that the information which is provided is ‘‘useful’’ and ‘‘factual’’ and debates about how we might maximise its utility in this respect abound. The descriptions of accounting which we find even in the most enlightened textbooks uphold a view that accounting seeks to contribute ‘‘...to make better decisions and thereby achieve organisational control and enhance organisational effectiveness’’ Wilson & Chua, 1993, p.16 . Whilst we may be sceptical about the extent to which accounting is actually used in the way which is claimed, nevertheless the roles which accounting fulfils Burchell et al., (1980) can be seen to be central to organisational decision making. If accounting is to encompass multiple values then one way in which this might be developed is through the framework of the ideal speech situation ISS Habermas, 1984, 1987. The ISS rests on two assumptions, first, that accounting is a form of communication, second, that the ISS is a means of achieving communicative rationality. Broadbent (1988) argues that the accounting profession should include all colors of workforce. Not only masculinity but also feminism should be encouraged in the accounting professionals. The history of feminist perspectives The accounting profession has been criticized for marginalizing and silencing some groups, such as women and ethnic minorities. To support the argument, this study must begin with the feminist perspectives. The feminist perspective was applied to the analysis of accounting perspective. There are many perspectives that have been applied to studies and research on accounting, the feminist perspective has been the central part of research and studies on women roles in accounting profession. What the main aim of the studies is that there are inequality in the roles of men and women. The studies aim to specify the inequalities in the role of men and women in the accountancy profession and in accountancy practice. The studies made a feminist praxis and raised suggestions and concerns. The main concern of feminist research in accounting has been to document women’s participation and experiences in the world of accountancy. The studies such as (Pillsbury et al., 1989; Silverstone, 1990; Weisel, 1991; Burke & McKeenan, 1992; Hooks, 1992; Boyer, 1995; Neale, 1995) mentioned that while women’s participation in accountancy has increased significantly over the last two decades, women are still achieving less senior positions than men. They tend to work in smaller firm. Such kinds of findings are observed in other countries such as Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. According to Gallhofer (1988), the mainstream literature has been looking for appropriate answers to the question of women have been less successful than men in pursuing and advancing their careers in accountancy. Some of the findings in the studies are (1) having children is an obstacle to promotion and promotion prospects and (2) sexism is also another obstacle in attempting to advance their career as men do. Some of the reasons are: (1) Recruitment process: In larger firms, the applications of women might be viewed based on sexist judgment. Some have suggested, for example, that a sexist bias in the recruitment process of larger firms may have had a negative impact on applications from women (Knapp & Kwan, 1991; cf. Trapp et al. 1981). (2) Performance differences between men and women: Some research has maintained that women have to perform better than men in order to overcome such bias and succeed in the accountancy profession (Barker & Monks, 1994). (3) Tenure of women accountancy: Studies have pointed to how women accountants experience high levels of stress inside and outside of their work organization (Collins, 1993; see also Hunton et al., 1996), who found this for women working as accountants in the manufacturing industry. Such research has tended to argue that it is thus difficult for accountancy firms to retain female accountants. (4) Differences in lifestyle between men and women: Similarly, other studies, such as the lead paper by Bernardi, have suggested that lifestyle preferences of many women working in the accountancy profession, for example, their preferences to stay at home with their children in infancy may lead them to leave the accountancy profession. Recommended strategies to overcome the problems The mainstream feminist accounting research suggests recommendations for organizations to overcome their problem in retention of women accountancy at work. Such strategies to retain female accountancy will overcome the ratio of working men and women accountancy in organization. Their recommendation mainly focuses on accommodating the requirements of women working as professional accountants. One of the human resource practices in common is flexible working hours for women. In the flexible working hour practices, it emphasizes that women who are having children and infants need time to stay home and take care of their babies. In most household, the responsibilities for taking care of babies lie on women. Therefore, in order to achieve the equality between men and women accountants, organizations are urged to practice flexible working hours for women. With such human resource management system, the women are allowed to manage their time to care their children at home and to work in their offices. The flexible working hours include reasonable working hours, job sharing, maternity leave and crèches (e.g. Hooks, 1992; Barker & Monks, 1995). Recent situations on equality of women It has been more than thirty years since the Sex Discrimination Act came into force. With such Act, women in general have made significant strides in both the workplace and in public life. Even though the achievements of inspirational, groundbreaking women, they are still not reaching the top of their professions in significant numbers. They represent just 10% of directors at FTSE 100 companies, and barely 20% of Members of Parliament. Among those few women who do make it to the top, ethnic minority women make up just 0.3% of MPs and 0.4% of FTSE 100 directors, despite the fact that they comprise 5.2% of the population and 3.9% of the labour market. Lack of flexibility at the top of professions often drives women towards setting up their own businesses. Just over one million women in the UK are now self-employed and the number of self-employed women has increased by 18% in five years.3 It is estimated that between 34.1% and 41.2% of the UK small business stock is either owned or co-owned by women (EOC, 2006). Table 1. Women Representation Politics: women’s average representation = 29% Business: women’s average representation = 14 % Media & culture: women’s average representation = 17 % Public & voluntary sectors: women’s average representation = 24% Source: EOC (2006) The EOC report argues that the reality is that unless women can combine work and caring roles successfully, they are unlikely to reach the top in great numbers. What’s more, all women will continue to experience a thin veneer of equality, that cracks as soon as they have children or take on caring responsibilities. Far too many workplaces still follow a long hours, inflexible model of work. This has never worked well for women and is increasingly out of date for the ever-growing number of men who say they want to be more involved at home. EOC research shows that 70% of fathers with babies under 15 months want to be more involved with their children, and nine out of 10 new dads (87%) are as confident in caring for their child as their partner.5 Greater availability of flexible working without the consequent career penalties is, therefore, essential. Women still do most of the caring, but as they progress up the management chain the availability of part-time and flexible working diminishes. Or they find that they have to ‘trade-down’ in order to get flexibility and pay too high a price. The part-time pay gap remains stubbornly high at 38%6 and EOC research shows four out of five part-time workers, many of whom are women, are working in jobs below their potential, in part due to the lack of flexible high-skills, senior roles.7 The EOC wants to see a transformation in our workplaces where flexibility becomes the norm rather than the exception – something that is open to all women and men to negotiate with their employers, many of whom increasingly recognise the business benefits. The need for high-quality, well-paid flexibility at work is increasingly a concern for men too and is often wanted by people at different points in their lives, for example by people working near or beyond retirement age. The absence of women at the top of public and business life in Britain today is not of their making. Significant barriers remain that prevent women from progressing up their career ladders into positions of power. Unless we drive forward change at the top, remove barriers and take concerted steps to consolidate and build on the progress we’ve made, there is a risk that we will not only see progress stall but go into reverse. The significant number of women ‘missing’ from positions of power is indicative of our failure to meet the economic and social challenges that confront us (EOC, 2006). It is vital that policy makers ensure that we make the right choice if we are to see a future where women’s and men’s choices are supported, not penalised; where potential is fulfilled, not squandered and where greater control over our working time is widespread, rather than the exception. The challenge ahead for the CEHR is to keep the pressure on for further progress in the years ahead (EOC, 2006). The research on equality between man and women: A feminist perspective According to Gallhofer (1988), the mainstream research for women accountancy is to emphasize and increase visibility of inequality between men and women. Their aim is to achieve equality and work between men and women accountants. Why there is a need for equality of men and women can be answered by in the researches of liberal feminist traditions (e. g. Ra-mazanoglu, 1989, p. 7; Lehman, 1992, p. 263). The feminists advocate equality between man and women accountants. This perspective of feminists has been a tradition with a long history. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century bourgeois women’s movement already raised concerns regarding equality between the sexes. Many strategies were developed at that time for a change. During the French Revolution, women raised their voices of concerns on equality in family, state and society. They struggled for equality between men and women in terms of rights including marriage and divorce, full formal political equality, equal rights over children and property as well as the rights for voting (e.g. Zetkin, 1977; Jaggar, 1983, p. 35). In the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, one of the famous and important feminists was Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) who proposed a Vindication of the Rights of Women. He argued that biology should not be an excuse for denying women equal rights. He asserted that women were confined to the domestic sphere because they had no access to education. This restricted them to realize their full potentials. Thus, Wollstonecraft argued that the inferiority of women was contributed by inequality in education. This has sustained them in the equality of women. In the nineteenth century, other prominent feminists were John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor. They continued to pursue the perspective of Wollstonecraft (Coole, 1988). This perspective continues in the liberal feminist school of thought (e.g. Jaggar & Rothenberg, 1984, p. 84; Tong, 1989, pp. 17; Whelehan, 1995, pp. 34). They continued to voice their concerns on inequality between men and women and advocate for promoting equality between men and women. Today, liberal feminists still argue that women have long suffered from injustices and unequal opportunities in family, society, and state. They argue that there is an urgent need to promote equality between men and women. They have conducted many campaigns on promoting and securing the equality in terms of opportunities between men and women. For example, their promotions on equality include equal civil rights, equal access to education and equal opportunities in career advancement and legislation which prohibits discrimination against women. According to Ramazanoglu (1989, p. 10), liberal feminists today are regarded as those who are really promoting the version of feminism which can be mostly understood by non-feminists. The liberal feminists aim at ‘‘...the single most important goal of women’s liberation is sexual equality, or, as it is sometimes termed, gender justice. What liberal feminist wish to do is free women from oppressive gender roles that is, from those roles that have been used as excuses or justifications for giving women a lesser place, or no place at all, in the academy, the forum, and the marketplace (Tong, 1989, p. 28)”. In the mainstream feminist accounting research, the promotion of equality between men and women accountants is grounded on the ideas of liberal feminists. However, there are many criticisms placed on liberal feminism. What are criticisms on liberal feminism? There are two main criticisms placed on the liberal feminism. First, the term “women” is not generally agreed upon. Their definition of women refers to a unitary and universal category. They raised concerns and issues related to the equal relevance and importance for all women. Women in the society suffer discrimination on the basis of sex. Thus this discrimination places on restrictions on women as a group disregarding to their individual wishes, interests, abilities or merits. Women as a group are not granted same freedoms and opportunities that are accessible for men. In addition, when equal civil rights and equal opportunities are established for women, then the group of women will be liberated (Jaggar, 1983, p. 176; jaggar & Rothenber, 1984, p. 85). These liberal feminism assumptions are made in mainstream feminist accounting research. In many studies (e.g. Pillsbury et al. 1989; Barker and Monks 1995 ; Paisey and Paisey 1995 ; Hunton et al. 1996 ; Bernardi, 1998) used the term women as a unitary and universal category when the issues of inequality in opportunities between men and women accountants in accountancy profession as well as when developing strategies and suggestions for overcoming the inequality issues. However the unitary and universal terms of women is not proper (e.g. Burrett, 1987; Ramazanoglu, 1989; Hewitt, 1992; Fox-Genovese, 1994). According to Zinn & Hill (1996, p. 322) the central focus of the critics is placed on the adherence of liberal feminism to “false universalism”. They argued that the use of the term women as universal lack the appropriate addressing issues of differences between women and the significance of these differences. The liberal feminism concerns of inequality and their voices are worthy however there is a gap between their analysis and praxis today. Once the context is considered, the use of the term women as a group becomes devoid of criticism (Anthias & Yuval-Davis, 1990). In the contemporary society, there are many differences between women. It is hard to mention the term such as women today. The weakness of the liberal feminism is that the theory does not reflect the difference among women and lacks careful attentions to differences in issues of class, race, and culture. These contextual elements are important to pay attention in analyzing women issues. Thus it fails to recognize the differences between women. For example, Ramazanoglu (1989, p. 20) describes the term women as ‘‘If it is not immediately obvious what the term ‘woman’ means in empirical terms, then the term needs qualification. Are black and white women in racist societies, women dying of famine and women political leaders, affluent western housewives and teenagers forced into prostitution all ‘women’ in anything more than the biological sense of the term? That is, do they all stand in the same relationship to men? Are they all oppressed by men in the same way?’’ Another criticism on the term women as a universal category, the experience of a certain group of women, even the in-depth study, cannot be generalized for all groups of women. This results in silencing those of others (Hammond & Oakes, 1992, p. 54). For example, when research investigates the experiences of a specific group of women and present the insides gained in the study. Their presentation can be generalized for this study group of women. However the study should not generalize the findings for all groups of women. If the study does so, it will be criticized for relevance and significance of the investigation. It will be questionable for policy suggestions made for women in general. What are criticisms on mainstream feminist research in Accounting? In the profession of accounting, the majority are males. Therefore, mainstream research is concerned with the equality of opportunity for women in the accounting profession. In practice, the women in the study group covers those who (1) hold a training contract with an accountancy firm or provisional or full membership of an accountancy body, (2) hold a university degree or a place at an institution of tertiary education. They are expected to enter into the middle-class, taking a position of professionals in the filed of accountancy (Witz, 1992, p. 54). First, the mainstream research in the accounting focuses on only a specific group of women in the middle-class who earned an educational training and have access to entering into the middle-class. Therefore, the research silences the other groups of women in other segments of socio-economic class. Such ignorance place the study to investigate in the specific group of women and the generalization of findings are difficult. Therefore, when making policy recommendations and changes, they are suitable and relevant to the study group only. Other socio-economic class groups may face similar problems however they may also have specific problems and issues related to their socio-economic background and class (Hammod, 1995, p. 147). Such failure to recognize the other classes of women in the mainstream research has been a tradition. It can be dated back to the study of Taylor’s suggestion. Taylor suggested that women should add a career outside the home to their domestic career. This will enable them to become a partner of their husband rather than a servant. ‘‘Even if every woman, as matters now stand, had a claim on some man to support, how infinitely preferable is it that part of the income should be of the woman’s earning, even if the aggregate sum were but little increased by it, rather than that she should be compelled to stand aside in order that men may be the sole earners, and the sole dispensers of what is earned’’. The women Taylor is referring to a group of women who are married. His suggestion cannot be applied to all groups of women in praxis. In fact Taylor was referring to a group of women who could hire disadvantaged group of women to nurse and take care of their children at home. These groups of women would have realistic advantage of combining domestic and potential outside career job to generate further incomes for their family. Similarly, the issue of focusing on group of women in accounting profession becomes more important. It was found in the study of Witz (1992). In the study of Witz (1992, p. 35), the middle-class men are with no fear for competition of women for many jobs. The men had exclusive access to many institutional forms in modern society, such as university, professional organizations, and of course the state. The women access to education is necessary and critical in entering into middle-class occupations. Middle-class women have more access to available means as the middle-class men do in entering into professional positions than working class women. According to Lehman (1992, p.266), the accountancy profession has preserved their middle-class character. The study found that there was an evidence concerning about working-class women gaining entry access into the profession in 1911. The specific concern was that when lower-class women are allowed to enter into the profession of accountancy, this would result in lowering the status of the accountancy charter, increase competition and lowering remuneration for all. However, today main stream research fails to address the issue of class because it overlooks equality concerns of women in different classes. The equal opportunity in accountancy profession for women form lower socio-economic classes should not be constrained to equality of opportunity with men, but should also include equality of opportunity with middle-class women. Zetkin (1977, p. 46) also argues that the liberal feminism did not recognize the impacts of class belongingness on the situation of women. The liberal feminism assertion would benefit to only independent and bourgeois class of women. For example, only middle-class or a group with higher education qualification can have access to childcare services. Similar to such situation, in accounting profession, only middle class women are affordable to purchase day care services. Only an elite minority have the financial resources to purchase the service (Ginn et al. 1996, p. 169). Therefore, the feminist accounting research should take more relevant coverage of study and analysis by expanding the scope of study from middle-class women to more broader classes of women (Gallhofer, 1988, p. 363). The second criticism is centered at racial bias. Many studies such as Hammond (1995) suggest that the mainstream research in accounting is conducted in the context where all white men and women are working as professionals in accountancy career. Therefore, not only the class, but also the racial issues should be considered carefully. ‘‘If feminist frameworks do not take account of the experience of women of color, then they are not only incomplete; they are also racially biased (Jagger & Rothenberg, 1983, XIV)”. Feminist accounting research needs to give recognition to the issue of race and build upon such insights as that of Hammond and Oakes 1992 who echoing hooks 1984 argue that when women gain entry into male-dominated professions ‘‘it is usually women of a different race and class who make this possible by taking care of the professionals’ children’’ (Hammond & Oakes, 1992, p. 55). In failing to challenge the relative oppression of women other than white in accountancy, mainstream research risks underwriting this. As in the case of class supra, in focusing upon women who are already in the accountancy profession the research does not address the barriers women other than white face in attempting to join the accountancy profession (Hammond, 1995). Kim (2004) argues that contemporary social science research on race/ethnicity and racism has mainly focused on the colonial situation as the object of analysis based on the Black (i.e. colonized) versus White (i.e. colonizer) dichotomy that has influenced the construction of cultural lenses through which social scientists have viewed people of “color.” However, this over-simplified Black/White dichotomy have little explanatory power to articulate non-colonial incorporation of those “territory-less” ethnic minorities into the 19th century British colonialism/imperialism, and thereby fails to recognize racism against these groups. A direct outcome of the introduction of people who were “culturally different” from both indigenous population and members of dominant groups was different processes of racialization, which often involved, and continues to involve, the positioning of subordinated groups against each other. It was indeed the surest and most efficient means of sustaining colonial relations of domination, by creating socio-economic competition and hostility between indigenous and the migrant populations. This contextual difference has not been widely acknowledged in previous social science research on colonialism/imperialism due mainly to the geographically confined research focus on the USA and South Africa. The consequence is that the colonial expansion of modern Europe is still the reference point for most discussions on the impact of colonialism/imperialism on the lives of ethnic minorities and the voices of those “territory-less” victims of colonialism/imperialism are still left in vacuum. There is, therefore, an urgent need to broaden the scope of enquiry on the issues of race/ethnicity in order to deepen our understanding of the different manifestation of colonialism/imperialism and its ongoing impact on people’s lives. The research focus on the different modalities of the 19th century colonialism/imperialism experienced by these non-colonized ethnic minorities has a particularly strong significance in this age of “globalization,” a time when the increasing homogenization and harmonization of accounting practice and education is attracting many criticisms for the emergence of neo-colonialism in accounting. An examination of these issues will give prominence to the voices that have been silenced in contemporary accounting literature, which continues to privilege the experiences of the center over those of the periphery. Conclusion In conclusion, the mainstream feminist research in accounting is influenced by liberal feminism more generally. The research concerns only Western white middle-class women. It ignores women with different class, race, and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, when advocating equal opportunities for women, it should cover all women from different class, race and cultural backgrounds. Haynes (2007) mentioned that motherhood and its interaction with the accounting profession demonstrate an area of social life where private, domestic, and personal lived experience interrelates with professional, public-facing working life. The distinction ‘between private and public ways of being takes a gendered form because women, especially mothers, have a particular social positioning within the private domestic sphere of home and family life’ (Ribbens and Edwards, 1998, p.10). It is not only the private that takes a gendered form, however, as the public life of the accounting profession and the changing gender balance within it has historically been problematic for women. The interaction of personal and public life for these women was challenging, with their understanding of idealised motherhood and childhood often being in contradiction with their desires to continue their professional career. While the women had reached senior manager or partner status, and had received some degree of accommodation by the firms to their new status as mothers, they were still subject to varying degrees of inequality. This was manifested in the lack of role models, derogatory comments, institutional long-hour culture, lack of understanding of childcare constraints, and in Judith’s case, apparent virtual constructive dismissal, such that her experience of employment was uncontrovertibly negative after she returned to work after maternity leave. Although these women are not necessarily representative, these misunderstandings and experiences demonstrate that the accounting profession continues to reproduce these inequalities (Haynes, 2007). The identities of professional and mothering are rather simply opposing to one another. The continuities and contrasts between them being multiple and complex. Women’s identities as mothers and as accountants are forged within the social and cultural practices of motherhood and professionalism, both of which are subject to gendered norms and socialisation processes within the structures of the profession and wider society. Social institutions, such as professional accountancy work, or motherhood, hold out the possibly of emancipation of the self by achieving one’s aspirations, but at the same time they create mechanisms of suppression and oppression, rather than actualisation of self, such that women may be confined to experiencing both certainty and anxiety simultaneously, leading to insecurity and lack of well-being. Identity work, and the practice of identity, of mother and accountant, illuminates the perpetuation of subtle forms of inequality within the accounting profession itself, allowing us to understand women’s location within social relations and the resistance they encounter as being due in some part to a gendered struggle over power, even though they are not involved in collective action (Hayne, 2007). In fact, the women role in the professional accounting must be carefully perceived. When referring to the women, there should be more attention to class, cultural background, and ethnic minority of women. Even in one class of women may face different struggles and inequality such as among middle-class women competing for entering professional positions. Therefore, experiences of women in different background should be carefully studied in order to have more in-depth understanding. Such understanding will lead to generating more corrective policies for promoting equality among women. There are also two competing identities for professional and motherhood for women. When these two competing identities are concerned, mothers should be provided with enabling environment for caring their child and developing professionalism in their chosen professions of accountancy. In short, women in accounting professionals should be broadly defined not only current working middle class, but also those who are in the marginalized segments or classes such as those who are trying to enter into the middle class professional jobs, those with different cultural and racial backgrounds, and various experiences. Once the scope of women is truly defined, the examination and perception on role and representation of women will be truly carried out. Their remedies for problem solving will arrive appropriately. Bibliography Lehman, C. (1992). “Herstory in Accounting: The first eighty years”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 17 (3 - 4): 261 – 285 Gallhofer, S. (1998). 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Kirkham, L. and A. Loft (1993). "Gender and the Construction of the Professional Accountant." Accounting, Organizations and Society 18 (6): 507 - 558. McNicholas, P., M. Humphries and S. Gallhofer (2004). "Maintaining the Empire: Maori Women's Experiences in the Accounting Profession." Critical Perspectives on Accounting 15 (1): 57 - 93. McNicholas, P. & M. Barrett (2005). "Answering the emancipatory call: An emerging research approach 'on the margins' of accounting." Critical Perspectives on Accounting 16 (4): 391 - 414. Nichols, D., R. K. Robinson, B. J. Reithel and G. M. Franklin (1997). "An Exploratory Study of Sexual Behavior in Accounting Firms: Do Male and Female CPA's Interpret Sexual Harassment Differently?" Critical Perspectives on Accounting 8 (3): 249 - 264. (see Hammond same issue for critique) Oakes, L. and T. Hammond (1995). "Biting the Epistemological Hand: Feminist Perspectives on Science and their Implications for Accounting Research." Critical Perspectives on Accounting 6 (1): 49 - 75. See also special issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, (2000), 13: 3 on accounting and indigenous peoples. Read More