Womens careers in SME accounting firms in Australia, Malaysia and India

Abstract

The aim of this cross-cultural study is to investigate the factors contributing to women's underrepresentation in senior roles in accounting firms internationally. Taking a qualitative, constructivist approach, we draw on the experiences of a sample of partners and principals of small and medium-sized accounting firms across Australia, Malaysia and India to identify how factors operating at the macro, meso and micro levels entrench the gendered processes and structures that privilege men in accounting profession. Through our analyses, we make visible how the prevailing cultural contexts shape the societal expectations at the macro level; organisational factors such as allocation of work, flexibility/ethnicity/caste and work practices at the meso level; and individual factors such as women's reluctance and family roles at the micro level, interact to continue to limit women's progress to senior ranks in accounting firms.