Research

Women in Accounting (Quick Take)

Jun 29, 2020

GLOBAL

The Proportion of Women Studying Accounting Worldwide Is Close to Parity1

The overall percentage of women studying accounting worldwide was 49% in 2018, up from 48% in 2014.2

CANADA

Half of Canadians in Accounting Occupations Are Women

As of the 2016 Canadian Census, women were 50.3% of all auditors, accountants, and investment professionals.3

Women auditors, accountants, and investment professionals earned more than CAD 11,000 less than their male counterparts in 2016.4

  • The median in wages, salaries, and commissions for women was CAD 56,887.5
  • The median in wages, salaries, and commissions for men was CAD 68,230.6

EUROPE

Women Make Up Almost Two-Thirds of Those Employed in Legal and Accounting Jobs in the European Union7

Percentage of Women Employed in Legal and Accounting Activities (2019)8

European Union (EU-28) 62.5%
Finland 66.8%
France 63.2%
Germany 66.8%
Ireland 58.4%
Italy 60.2%
Norway 57.0%
Spain 57.7%
Sweden 56.3%
Switzerland 54.0%
United Kingdom 57.0%

Among the UK’s largest accounting firms, which include the Big Four, women were 42% of managers but only 17% of partners (as of 2019).9

UNITED STATES

For Years, Women Have Been at Parity Among Accounting Graduates, Yet Women of Color Continue to be Underrepresented10

Percentage of Women Graduates in Accounting and Related Services by Race/Ethnicity and Degree (2017–2018)11

Bachelor’s Master’s
Black women 4.2% 4.2%
Asian women 4.7% 4.8%
Latinas 6.9% 5.1%
White women 29.3% 24.4%
All women 52.8% 55.7%
More Than Half of All Accountants and Auditors Are Women12

Women are 61.7% of all accountants and auditors in the United States.13

Women are 50% of all full-time staff at CPA firms, but make up just 27% of partners and principals.14

The percentage of women on management committees is growing: 33% in 2019 compared to 19% in 2014.15

  • Women make up nearly half of directors (41%) and senior managers (44%).16
Few Women Lead Audits at Major Accounting Firms17

As of 2018, only 15% of lead engagement partners auditing S&P 500 companies were women.18 These are sought-after roles due to their potential for visibility and recognition.19

  • In the same year, none of the Big Four accounting firms exceeded 21% in the share of women lead engagement partners assigned to audit S&P 500 companies.20

In US CPA firms, women are only 23% of partners, yet 42% of CPAs in Accounting/finance functions and 47% of professional staff in accounting/finance functions21

As the firms increase in size, women are less likely to hold leadership roles.

  • Among firms with 100 or more CPAs, women make up:22
    • 16% of Executive Committees
    • 45% of Directors
    • 45% of Senior Managers
Women of Color Are Especially Underrepresented in Accounting

In 2018, 71% of all professional staff at CPA firms were white.23

  • Asian/Pacific Islander professionals at CPA firms had a higher representation (17%) than Black (4%) and Latinx (6%) professionals.24
  • People of color made up close to half of graduates with accounting degrees (41% of Bachelor’s degrees and 46% of Master’s degrees) – yet 70% of new hires by CPA firms were white.25

The representation of women of color employed among accountants and auditors in 2019:26

  • Black women: 5.5%
  • Asian women: 8.0%
  • Latinas: 5.3%
Flexibility is Popular Among Accounting Firms

Of the firms surveyed, 94% offer modified work arrangements (MWAs), with the most popular MWA being flextime (82%).27

In firms with 100 or more CPAs, partners (both equity and income/non-equity) who are men are more likely to use MWAs than partners who are women.28

Flexible work increases retention and is a valuable tool to attract top talent.29

  • 84% of firms said telecommuting and 83% said flexible schedules helped with employee retention.
  • 56% of firms said that both telecommuting and flexible schedules helped attract employees.
The Gender Pay Gap Persists in Accounting

Women working as accountants or auditors earned a weekly median salary of $1,141, compared to the weekly median salary of $1,419 earned by men in the same fields in 2019.30

More than a third (39%) of CPA firms assess pay equity by race and gender.31

  • Many CPA firms evaluate pay equity by department (64%) and region/office (52%).32

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

American Institute of CPAs, “Women in the Profession.”

American Woman’s Society of Certified Public Accountants

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Financial Services.

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in Accounting (June 29, 2020).

  1. Financial Reporting Council, Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession (October 2019): p. 61.
  2. Financial Reporting Council, Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession (October 2019): p. 61.
  3. Statistics Canada, “Occupation – National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 (693A), Highest Certificate, Diploma or Degree (15), Labour Force Status (3), Age (13A) and Sex (3) for the Labour Force Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data,” 2016 Census (2017).
  4. Statistics Canada, “Employment Income Statistics (7), Occupation – National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 (193A), Work Activity During the Reference Year (9) and Sex (3) for the Population Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data,” 2016 Census (2017).
  5. Statistics Canada, “Employment Income Statistics (7), Occupation – National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 (193A), Work Activity During the Reference Year (9) and Sex (3) for the Population Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data,” 2016 Census (2017).
  6. Statistics Canada, “Employment Income Statistics (7), Occupation – National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 (193A), Work Activity During the Reference Year (9) and Sex (3) for the Population Aged 15 Years and Over in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data,” 2016 Census (2017).
  7. Eurostat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (from 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) – 1 000,” Eurostat Database (2020).
  8. Eurostat, “Employment by Sex, Age and Detailed Economic Activity (from 2008 Onwards, NACE Rev. 2 Two Digit Level) – 1 000,” Eurostat Database (2020).
  9. The Big Four is a term used to describe the four largest accounting firms in the world: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, Oxford Reference, “Big Four.”; Tabby Kinder, “Accountancy Firms Criticized for Letting White Men Dominate,” Financial Times, October 21, 2019.
  10. AICPA, 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits (2019): p. 16.
  11. Figures represent institutions in IPEDS’s First Look Universe, which “includes institutions that are (1) currently in the IPEDS universe, (2) open to the public, (3) a participant in federal financial aid programs.” National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Data Center, “Statistical Tables: Awards/Degrees Conferred by Program (2010 CIP Classification), Award Level, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender – Includes New Race/Ethnicity and Award Level Categories,” Completions Survey (2020).
  12. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity [Numbers in thousands], 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  13. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity [Numbers in thousands], 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  14. Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., 2019 Accounting MOVE Project Report (2019): p. 11.
  15. Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., 2019 Accounting MOVE Project Report (2019): p. 11.
  16. Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., 2019 Accounting MOVE Project Report (2019): p. 11.
  17. Michael Rapoport, “Women Rarely Run the Biggest Audits at the Big Four Accounting Firms,” The Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2018.
  18. An engagement partner is “the member of the engagement team with primary responsibility for the audit.” Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, “Auditing Standard 1201: Supervision of the Audit Engagement” (2010).
  19. CFA Institute, New Public Company Auditor Disclosures: Who Audits the Company You Invest In? How Long Have They Been the Auditor? (2018): p. 6.
  20. CFA Institute, New Public Company Auditor Disclosures: Who Audits the Company You Invest In? How Long Have They Been the Auditor? (2018): p. 7.
  21. AICPA, 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits (2019): p. 28-30.
  22. AICPA, 2019 CPA Firm Gender Survey (2019): p. 3-5.
  23. AICPA, 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits (2019): p. 28.
  24. AICPA, 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits (2019): p. 28.
  25. AICPA, 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits (2019): p. 15, 20.
  26. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 1: Employed and Experienced Unemployed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, Annual Average 2019,” Current Population Survey (unpublished data) (2020).
  27. AICPA, 2019 CPA Firm Gender Survey (2019): p. 6.
  28. AICPA, 2019 CPA Firm Gender Survey (2019): p. 6.
  29. AICPA, 2019 CPA Firm Gender Survey (2019): p. 7.
  30. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 39: Median Weekly Earnings of Full-time Wage and Salary Workers by Detailed Occupation and Sex, 2019,” Current Population Survey, Household Data Annual Averages (2020).
  31. Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., 2019 Accounting MOVE Project Report (2019): p. 12.
  32. Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., 2019 Accounting MOVE Project Report (2019): p. 12.