Women of Color in Accounting—Women of Color in Professional Services Series
With women and people of color joining the accounting industry at an increasing rate, firms are faced with the job of creating more inclusive environments in a traditionally white, male-dominated, “up-or-out” culture. Although a certain amount of attrition is built into the business model for professional services firms, accounting firms can no longer afford high turnover among talented professionals.
Impetus: This report is the second in a four-part research series investigating the experiences of women of color in professional services firms, which are characterized by a client-service focus and firmly entrenched “old boys’” networks. For the first time, Catalyst is able to benchmark the experiences of women of color against other demographic groups in the workforce.
Methodology: To gather qualitative data, we conducted six interviews with senior partners and nine focus groups of professional employees at participating firms. To collect quantitative data, a web survey was distributed to a sample of employees at some of the 20 largest (by revenue) accounting firms in the United States. The survey was sent to a total of 3,918 individuals, and 1,424 of them responded, for an overall response rate of 36.3 percent.
Findings: Women of color had more in common with men of color than with white women in their attitudes regarding exclusivity of the work environment and their perceptions that practices intended to support inclusion were not as effective as they could be. Most importantly, women of color experienced “intersectionality” in that they faced many barriers to a greater extent than did white women or men of color. Many of these barriers relate to difficulty in navigating a client-based environment, and include lack of similar role models, stereotyping, a greater level of exclusion from networks, and difficulty in accessing high-visibility assignments and business development opportunities.
Lead Sponsor: Ernst & Young
Contributing Sponsors: Deloitte & Touche; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
