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There are a number of new diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives taking place within the accounting industry, and they are already doing a good job of improving gender equality. This information comes from Sharon Spice - global marketing, brand and belonging director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) - who believes that the industry is being proactive in closing the gender gap.
According to Spice, many ICAEW members are already making changes to their policies, in order to support women in accounting. The aim of this is to support women in progressing and developing their careers. For example, Deloitte has created a number of family friendly policies to help those who care for others. Similarly, PwC has organised mentoring programmes to provide support in skills development.
Additionally, a lot of ICAEW member firms have joined the Women in Finance Charter, and some are working on the Chartered Accountants Worldwide’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce.
Gender Equality is Slowly Improving
Though gender equality in the accounting industry is changing, there is still room for improvement. According to the Top 50 + 50 Accountancy Age report, the percentage of male leaders dropped from 87% to 76% in 2020. Though leaders in the industry are predominantly male, the gap is slowly closing. The report also highlighted that close to half of people working in the industry identified as being female, highlighting that there is almost a gender balance.
Spice went on to say: “We are approaching gender balance and our intake numbers for female students have been increasing over the past decade. However, we know there’s a widening gap at senior levels as women do not always progress into senior positions at the same pace or leave the profession altogether.”
However, others believe that women still struggle just as much at entry level as they do in more senior positions. Due to caring and family responsibilities, many women find it difficult to partake in the social side of the industry. This could result in them being left out of conversations surrounding progression and skill development, as well as holding them back from networking and building relationships.
How the Accounting Industry Can Level the Playing Field
Dealing with gender stereotypes, the inability to access female role models and working hours that do not work around family life could all hold a woman back. Thankfully, there are things that the accounting industry can do to level the playing field in regards to gender equality in the workplace. For example, some firms are using a new hiring platform, which allows them to hire candidates anonymously. By hiring anonymously, firms avoid any biases that could be of a disadvantage to a woman. It’s thought that anonymous applications which focus on skills that are relevant to the role, could increase female hires significantly. According to Sundaram, this could be by as much as 300%.
It’s also important for firms to avoid using gendered language in job advertisements, as masculine words can deter female applicants. By keeping things as gender neutral as possible, female applicants are more likely to apply and be hired.