Gendered Career Rein: A Gender Analysis of the Certification Process of Auditors in Sweden

Abstract

It has been claimed that the accounting and auditing business is a gendered industry. Even though as many women as men enter the business, high positions such as partnerships still largely appear to be a privilege for men. Earlier research has indicated that this selection process starts early on the career ladder. In this article we investigate the gendered character of the early phase of qualification to become a certified auditor. Using a gender perspective and social capital conceptions we offer a set of hypotheses that predict certification time, with special emphasis on the gendered character of the factors. We test the hypotheses on the population of newly certified auditors in Sweden. The results indicate that there are differences between the sexes, but that the factors even out, implying no important difference in certification time. We conclude that auditors of both sexes are subject to gendering processes that influence their certification time before they enter the auditing firm, mainly through family and school attendance variables, and they continue to experience gendered processes within the firm. Thus, we need to acknowledge not only the ‘glass ceiling’ within organizations, but also the gendered ‘career rein’ on individuals.