nach oben

Journal of Business Ethics

Erschienen in:

08.11.2018 | Original Paper

An Analysis of Glass Ceiling Perceptions in the Accounting Profession

verfasst von: Jeffrey R. Cohen, Derek W. Dalton, Lori L. Holder-Webb, Jeffrey J. McMillan

Erschienen in: Journal of Business Ethics | Ausgabe 1/2020

Einloggen

Aktivieren Sie unsere intelligente Suche, um passende Fachinhalte oder Patente zu finden.

search-config

KI-gestützte Suche

Aus

Abstract

Access to a deep pool of talent is essential to the success of every professional services firm. The supply of that talent is contingent upon the available rewards for the exercise of that talent, and both the existence of the potential rewards and the beliefs that individuals hold about the existence of the rewards affect the decision to remain in the field. One structural factor that may affect the judgment about whether to remain in a profession concerns promotions based on the gender of the employee (i.e., the “glass ceiling”). In this study, we examine the “glass ceiling” within the context of the accounting profession. While advances have been made within the accounting profession to address the glass ceiling, the continued existence—and perceptions about the continued existence—of the issue exert adverse effects upon the available talent pool and may create long-term problems for the profession. In this study, we investigate glass ceiling perceptions among a large sample of female accounting professionals employed in accounting; the sample includes both public accountants, and those employed in industry accounting. Our study yields the finding of beliefs in bias-driven effects (e.g., a bias against female promotions to the top level), structural effects (e.g., a lack of mentoring opportunities, networking opportunities, and high-profile job assignments), and cultural effects (e.g., a lack of social support from the male leaders within the organization) among these accounting professionals. Glass ceiling perceptions are also influenced by several demographic factors. Furthermore, accounting professionals employed by industry are more likely to report a glass ceiling within their firms than accounting professionals employed by public accounting firms. The findings are of interest to researchers who explore gender-related issues in professional service firms such as the field of accounting, and to senior members of practice who are tasked with ensuring the integrity and quality of the talent pool and the equitable distribution of rewards to employees.

Vorheriger Artikel Does Humour Influence Perceptions of the Ethicality of Female-Disparaging Advertising?

Nächster Artikel Punishing Politeness: The Role of Language in Promoting Brand Trust

Sie haben noch keine Lizenz? Dann Informieren Sie sich jetzt über unsere Produkte:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Jetzt informieren

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Jetzt informieren

The existence of the glass ceiling has the potential to create significant problems for researchers studying the judgment and decision processes of top decision-makers, as the selection bias that results in a paucity of females for such samples also incorporates known gender-based differences in professional judgment and decision-making. For example, research indicates that teams made up of more women are more productive and efficient (Woolley et al. 2010), which is particularly relevant for the team-based nature of auditing (e.g., Trotman et al. 2015). Female audit partners are more effective at mitigating the earnings management efforts of their clients (Ittonen et al. 2013). Female analysts issue more accurate forecasts than male analysts (Kumar 2010), and female CFOs are more likely to make decisions that maximize shareholder value, as compared to male CFOs (Huang and Kisgen 2013). Likewise, studies that rely on students or low-level employees as proxies for high-level decision-makers will have problems with predictive validity, since those studies will not be able to control for the real-world selection bias and the lower proportion of females that arise from the glass ceiling effect.

Jost and Kay (2005) further point out that these stereotypes and status cannot be disentangled: the stereotype is derived from the role and status. Traits of competence and assertiveness are ascribed to high-status individuals, while traits of communality are ascribed to low-status individuals, and in turn, competence and assertiveness are assumed to be required for high-status positions, while communality is assumed to be required for low-status positions. If a person occupies a low-status position, the assumption is that the person is communally oriented, and if that person occupies a high-status position, they are assumed to be assertive and competent.

The Oregon, Washington, and Tennessee Boards of Accountancy provided us with mailing lists of all the CPAs licensed in their respective states (i.e., both male and female accounting professionals). However, given that our study examines female accounting professionals’ perceptions of the glass ceiling, we coded all of the names as male or female and used the female accounting professionals in our email requests. Names that were not obviously female names (e.g., Clare, Sloan, Cristy, Ashley, etc.) were coded as female names. Some respondents emailed the authors to indicate that they were males. Additionally, three male accounting professionals completed the survey; we removed these observations from our study.

Our email requests informed sole proprietors and female accounting professionals who were not employed in private accounting or public accounting to ignore our survey. However, we note that several female accounting professionals who were either sole proprietors or who were not employed in public accounting or private accounting (e.g., governmental employees) completed our survey. As such, these participants were removed from the analysis (i.e., these observations were not included in our final sample of 410 completed surveys). Furthermore, we also removed six participants who indicated that they were retired. We also note that we pilot tested our survey on a small sample of female CPAs licensed in Oregon, Washington, and Tennessee. Following the pilot test, several minor changes were made to our survey. The results from our pilot test are not included in the reported results.

In related research, Dalton et al. (2014) asked female public accountants to respond to the following question: “To what extent do you believe the glass ceiling exists in your firm?” where 1 = not at all; 3 = a moderate extent and 5 = a large extent. Dalton et al. find that 45% of female public accountants reported that the glass ceiling exists to at least a moderate extent (i.e., a response of 3, 4, or 5 on the scale). In the current study, a smaller percentage of female public accountants (i.e., 27.9%) reported the existence of a glass ceiling within their firm, potentially because they were asked in a different manner. Specifically, in the current study, female public accountants were asked to respond to the following yes/no question: “Do you believe that the glass ceiling exists in your firm?”. In other words, the measure used by Dalton et al. (2014) presupposes the existence of a glass ceiling (i.e., To what extent do you believe the glass ceiling exists in your firm?), which we believe explains the higher percentage of glass ceiling perceptions found by Dalton et al. (2014).

Adapa, A., Rindfleish, J., & Sheridan, A. (2016). ‘Doing gender’ in a regional context: Explaining women’s absence from senior roles in regional accounting firms in Australia. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 35, 100–110.

Almer, E. D., Cohen, J. R., & Single, L. E. (2003). Factors affecting the choice to participate in flexible work arrangements. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 22, 69–91.

Almer, E. D., Lightbody, M. G., & Single, L. E. (2012). Successful promotion or segregation from partnership? An examination of the “post-senior manager” position in public accounting and the implications for women’s careers. Accounting Forum, 36, 122–133.

Almer, E. D., & Single, L. E. (2007). Shedding light on the AICPA work/life and women’s initiative research: What does it mean to educators and students? Issues in Accounting Education, 22, 67–77.

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). (2013). Trends in the supply of accounting graduates and the demand for public accounting recruits. New York: AICPA.

Anderson, J. C., Johnson, E. N., & Reckers, P. M. J. (1994). Perceived effects of gender, family structure, and physical appearance on career progression in public accounting: A research note. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 19, 483–491.

Anderson, S. W., & Lillis, A. M. (2011). Corporate frugality: Theory, measurement and practice. Contemporary Accounting Research, 28, 1349–1387.

Anderson-Gough, F., Grey, C., & Robson, K. (2001). Tests of time: Organizational time-reckoning and the making of accountants in two multi-national accounting firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 30, 469–490.

Anderson-Gough, F., Grey, C., & Robson, K. (2005). “Helping them to forget...”: The organizational embedding of gender relations in public audit firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 30, 469–490.

Armstrong, J. S., & Overton, T. S. (1977). Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 14, 396–402.

Barker, P. C., & Monks, K. (1998). Irish women accountants and career progression: A research note. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 23, 813–823.

Bentler, P. M. (1992). On the fit of models to covariances and methodology to the bulletin. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 400–404.

Bianchi, S. M. (2000). Maternal employment and time with children: Dramatic change or surprising continuity? Demography, 37, 401–414.

Blum, T. C., Fields, D. L., & Goodman, J. S. (1994). Organization-level determinants of women in management. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 241–268.

Bobek, D. D., Dalton, D. W., Daugherty, B. E., Hageman, A. M., & Radtke, R. R. (2017). An investigation of ethical environments of CPAs: Public accounting versus industry. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 29, 43–56.

Britton, D. M. (2000). The epistemology of the gendered organization. Gender and Society, 14, 418–434.

Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models. Newbury Park: Sage.

Brown, E. R., & Diekman, A. B. (2013). Differential effects of female and male candidates on system justification: Can cracks in the glass ceiling foster complacency? European Journal of Social Psychology, 43, 299–306.

Buchheit, S., Dalton, D. W., Harp, N., & Hollingsworth, C. (2016). A contemporary analysis of accounting professionals’ work-life balance. Accounting Horizons, 30, 41–62.

Budig, M. J., & England, P. (2001). The wage penalty for motherhood. American Sociological Review, 66, 204–225.

Burke, R. J., & McKeen, C. A. (1990). Mentoring in organizations: Implications for women. Journal of Business Ethics, 9, 317–332.

Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Catalyst. (2010). Catalyst census: Fortune 500 women executive officers and top earners. New York: Catalyst.

Catalyst. (2013). Catalyst census: Fortune 500 women executive officers and top earners. New York: Catalyst.

Catalyst. (2015). New 2015 catalyst census: Overwhelming majority of new directorships continue to go to men, women board seats not on path to parity (June 14, 2016).

Cech, E. A., & Blair-Loy, M. (2010). Perceiving glass ceilings? Meritocratic versus structural explanations of gender inequality among women in science and technology. Social Problems, 57, 371–397.

Chow, C. W., Harrison, G. L., McKinnon, J. L., & Wu, A. (2002). The organizational culture of public accounting firms: Evidence from Taiwanese local and US affiliated firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 27, 347–360.

Claffey, S. T., & Mickelson, K. D. (2009). Division of householder labor and distress: The role of perceived fairness for employed mothers. Sex Roles, 60, 819–831.

Cohen, P. N., & Huffman, M. L. (2007). Working for the woman? Female managers and the gender wage gap. American Sociological Review, 72, 681–704.

Converse, J. M., & Presser, S. (1986). Survey questions: Handcrafting the standardized questionnaire. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Dalton, D. R., Hill, J. W., & Ramsay, R. J. (1997). Women as managers and partners: Context specific predictors of turnover in international public accounting firms. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 16, 29–50.

Dalton, D. W., Cohen, J. R., Harp, N. L., & McMillan, J. J. (2014). Antecedents and consequences of perceived gender discrimination in the audit profession. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 33, 1–32.

Dambrin, C., & Lambert, C. (2012). Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 23, 1–16.

Davis, S. N., & Greenstein, T. N. (2009). Gender ideology: components, predictors, and consequences. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 87–105.

Dichev, I. D., Graham, J. R., Harvey, C. R., & Rajgopal, S. (2013). Earnings quality: Evidence from the field. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 56, 1–33.

Downes, M., Hemmasi, M., & Eshghi, G. (2014). When a perceived glass ceiling impacts organizational commitment and turnover intent: The mediating role of distributive justice. Journal of Diversity Management, 9, 131–146.

Eagly, A. H. (1987). Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

Eagly, A. H., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C. (2001). The leadership styles of men and women. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 781–797.

Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 2–22.

Elias, R. (2004). The impact of corporate ethical values on perceptions of earnings management. Managerial Auditing Journal, 19, 84–98.

Foley, S., Kidder, D. L., & Powell, G. N. (2002). The perceived glass ceiling and justice perceptions: An investigation of Hispanic law associates. Journal of Management, 28, 471–496.

Foster, B. P., Lonial, S., & Shastri, T. (2011). Mentoring, career plateau tendencies, turnover intentions and implications for narrowing pay and position gaps due to gender: Structural equations modeling. The Journal of Applied Business Research, 27, 71–84.

Fowler, F. J. (1995). Improving survey questions: Design and evaluation. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Glass, J. (2007). The Family Responsive Workplace. In Perrucci and Perrucci (Eds.), The Transformation of work in the new economy. NY: Oxford University Press.

Gornick, J. C., & Meyers, M. K. (2008). Creating gender egalitarian societies: An agenda for reform. Politics and Society, 36, 313–349.

Guinn, R. E., Bhamornsiri, S., & Blanthorne, C. (2004). Promotion to partner in big firms: Truths and trends. The CPA Journal, 74, 54.

Haines, E. L., & Jost, J. T. (2000). Placating the powerless: Effects of legitimate and illegitimate explanations on affect, memory, and stereotyping. Social Justice Research, 13, 219–236.

Haynes, K. (2017). Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 43, 110–124.

Heilman, M. E. (2001). Description and prescription: How gender stereotypes prevent women’s ascent up the organizational ladder. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 657–674.

Hill Collins, P. (1991). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York: Routledge.

Hoobler, J. M., Wayne, S. J., & Lemmon, G. (2009). Bosses’ perceptions of family-work conflict and women’s promotability: Glass ceiling effects. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 939–957.

Huang, J., & Kisgen, D. J. (2013). Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives? Journal of Financial Economics, 108, 822–839.

Hull, R. P., & Umansky, P. H. (1997). An examination of gender stereotyping as an explanation for vertical job segregation in public accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22, 507–528.

Ibarra, H., Carter, N. M., & Silva, C. (2010). Why men still get more promotions than women. Harvard Business Review, 88, 80–85.

Ittonen, K., Peni, E. A., & Vähämaa, S. (2013). Female auditors and accruals quality. Accounting Horizons, 27, 205–228.

Johnson, E. N., Lowe, D. J., & Reckers, P. M. J. (2008). Alternative work arrangements and perceived career success: Current evidence from the big four firms in the US. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 33, 48–72.

Jost, J. T. (1997). An experimental replication of the depressed entitlement effect among women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 387–393.

Jost, J. T., & Banaji, M. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27.

Jost, J. T., & Kay, A. C. (2005). Exposure to benevolent sexism and complementary gender stereotypes: Consequences for specific and diffuse forms of system justification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 498–509.

Jost, J. T., Mahzarin, R. B., & Nosek, B. A. (2004). A decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status quo. Political Psychology, 25, 881–919.

Kane, E. (1992). Race and gender attitudes toward gender stratification. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 311–320.

Kane, E. (1998). Men’s and women’s beliefs about gender inequality: Family ties, dependence, and agreement. Sociological Forum, 13, 611–637.

Kane, E. (2000). Racial and ethnic variations in gender-related attitudes. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 419–439.

Kim, S. N. (2004). Racialized gendering of the accountancy profession: Toward an understanding of Chinese women’s experiences in accountancy in New Zealand. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 400–427.

Kirchmeyer, C. (2002). Change and stability in manager’s gender roles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 929–939.

Kokot, P. (2014). Structures and relationships: women partners’ careers in Germany and the UK. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 27, 48–72.

Kornberger, M., Carter, C., & Ross-Smith, A. (2010). Changing gender domination in a Big Four accounting firm: Flexibility, performance and client service in practice. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 35, 775–791.

Kumar, A. (2010). Self-selection and the forecasting abilities of female equity analysts. Journal of Accounting Research, 48, 393–435.

Lupu, I. (2012). Approved routes and alternative paths: The construction of women’s careers in large accounting firms: Evidence from the French Big Four. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 23, 351–369.

Lyness, K. S., & Thompson, D. E. (1997). Above the glass ceiling? A comparison of matched samples of female and male executives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 359–375.

Maier, M. (1999). On the gendered substructure of organization: Dimensions and dilemmas of corporate masculinity. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender and work (pp. 69–93). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Major, B., & Schmader, T. (2001). Legitimacy and the construal of social disadvantage. In J. T. Jost & B. Major (Eds.), The psychology of legitimacy: Emerging perspectives on ideology, justice, and intergroup relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Malsch, B., & Gendron, Y. (2013). Re-theorizing change: Institutional experimentation and the struggle for domination in the field of public accounting. Journal of Management Studies, 50, 870–899.

Margheim, L., Hora, J. A., & Pattison, D. (2010). Educational competencies that mid-sized CPA firms value in their processional accounting staff. American Journal of Business Education, 3, 69–80.

Martell, R. F., Lane, D. M., & Emrich, C. G. (1996). Male-female differences: A computer simulation. American Psychologist, 51, 157–158.

Mattis, M. C. (2002). Best practices for retaining and advancing women professionals and managers. In R. J. Burke & D. L. Nelson (Eds.), Advancing women’s careers: Research and Practice. Malden: Blackwell.

Morrison, A. M., & Von Glinow, M. A. (1990). Women and minorities in management. American Psychologist, 45, 200–208.

Oakley, J. G. (2000). Gender-based barriers to senior management positions: Understanding the scarcity of female CEOs. Journal of Business Ethics, 27, 321–334.

Pedhazur, E. (1997). Multiple regression in behavioral research (pp. 714–765). New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Powell, G. N. (1999). Reflections on the glass ceiling: Recent trends and future prospects. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender and work. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Powell, G. N., & Butterfield, D. A. (1994). Investigating the “glass ceiling” phenomenon: An empirical study of actual promotions to top management. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 68–85.

Powell, G. N., & Butterfield, D. A. (1997). Effect of race on promotions to top management in a federal department. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 112–128.

Ragins, B. R., & Cornwell, J. M. (2001). Pink triangles: Antecedents and consequences of perceived workplace discrimination against gay and lesbian employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1224–1261.

Ragins, B. R., & Cotton, J. L. (1991). Easier said than done: Gender differences in perceived barriers to gaining a mentor. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 939–951.

Ragins, B. R., Townsend, B., & Mattis, M. (1998). Gender gap in the executive suite: CEOs and female executives report on breaking the glass ceiling. Academy of Management Executive, 12, 28–42.

Roberts, J., & Coutts, J. A. (1992). Feminization and professionalization: A review of an emerging literature on the development of accounting in the United Kingdom. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 17, 379–395.

Rudman, L. A., & Phelan, J. E. (2008). Backlash effects for disconfirming gender stereotypes in organizations. In A. P. Brief & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior: An annual series of analytical essays and critical reviews (Vol. 28. pp. 61–79).

Schein, V. E. (1975). Relationships between sex role stereotypes and requisite management characteristics among female managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 340–344.

Simonetti, J. L. (1999). Through the top with mentoring. Business Horizons, 42, 56–63.

Suddaby, R., Gendron, Y., & Lam, H. (2009). The organizational context of professionalism in accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34, 409–427.

Townsend, N. (2002). The package deal: Marriage, work, and fatherhood in men’s lives. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Tremblay, M.-S., Gendron, Y., & Malsch, B. (2016). Gender on board: Deconstructing the “legitimate” female director. Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, 29, 165–190.

Trotman, K. T., Bauer, T. D., & Humphreys, K. A. (2015). Group judgement and decision making in auditing: Past and future research. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 47, 56–72.

Weyer, B. (2007). Twenty years later: Explaining the persistence of the glass ceiling for women leaders. Women in Management Review, 22, 482–496.

Williams, J. (2000). Unbending gender: Why work and family conflict and what to do about it. New York: Oxford University Press.

Women in the Workplace. (2015). Retrieved January 15, 2018 from http://womenintheworkplace.com/.

Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science, 330, 686–688.

Zhang, J., & Yu, K. (1998). What’s the relative risk? A method of correcting the odds ratios in cohort studies of common outcomes. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 1690–1691.

Titel: An Analysis of Glass Ceiling Perceptions in the Accounting Profession
verfasst von: Jeffrey R. Cohen
Derek W. Dalton
Lori L. Holder-Webb
Jeffrey J. McMillan
Publikationsdatum: 08.11.2018
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Erschienen in: Journal of Business Ethics / Ausgabe 1/2020
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4054-4

Springer Professional

Abstract

Bitte loggen Sie sich ein, um Zugang zu Ihrer Lizenz zu erhalten.

Sie haben noch keine Lizenz? Dann Informieren Sie sich jetzt über unsere Produkte:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Weitere Artikel der Ausgabe 1/2020

Guanxi or Justice? An Empirical Study of WeChat Voting

Punishing Politeness: The Role of Language in Promoting Brand Trust

Ethics Education in the Qualification of Professional Accountants: Insights from Australia and New Zealand

Does Humour Influence Perceptions of the Ethicality of Female-Disparaging Advertising?

Should Financial Gatekeepers be Publicly Traded?

Navigating Embeddedness: Experiences of Indian IT Suppliers and Employees in the Netherlands