چکیده :
Studies of professional accountancy firms have indicated a complex process of internal
socialisation which shapes the professional and organisational identities of the chartered
accountants working within them. These processes have acted as a mechanism for
excluding women, hindering their progress and facilitating their exit. Previous evidence
suggests that women leave professional accountancy firms in order to accommodate more
flexibility, experience less pressure, achieve consistency of hours and hence attain a better
work/life balance.
In this paper we seek to examine whether the gendered work practices of professional
accountancy firms influence female choice to seek alternative employment outside the
professional accountancy firm environment. Specifically the paper seeks to answer two
research questions (1) why and when do women leave professional accountancy firms? (2)
is the working environment outside professional accountancy firms less gendered?
Data was collected by means of a postal questionnaire distributed in 2005 to women who
had qualified in the years 1990–1995 (n ¼ 1022). Responses were received from 370
women, of whom 100 were employed with professional accountancy firms and 270
employed within industry. In depth interviews were also conducted with 7 partners in
professional accountancy firms and 6 women who had left the professional accountancy
environment to pursue employment elsewhere.
Whilst there was evidence that professional accountancy firms continue to reflect
gendered working norms practices, rather than compound the dominant view, this study
suggests that the primary reason women leave professional accountancy firms is to seek
more interesting work as opposed to obtaining more flexibility in their working lives. In
addition, the experiences of the women, the working patterns, and rates of progression
were similar irrespective of employment type.
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