e-journal

Intra-professional hierarchies: the gendering of accounting specialisms in UK accountancy

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Purpose – Concomitant with the trend towards specialisation in UK accountancy and the rise of
relatively separate formal spheres of professional work along formal specialisms such as tax, audit
and management consultancy, women entered the profession in unprecedented numbers, but not
evenly distributed across those specialisms. This paper aims to draw on the sociology of accountancy
and feminist studies of the professions to show that specialisms have emerged through and, in turn,
have been shaped and recreated by gender as well as other processes.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper’s research approach combines the sociology of
professions with critical gender studies. It draws on interviews, brochures, web pages, and results
from a questionnaire survey to investigate professional identities within UK accountancy.
Findings – Accountants’ self-articulated notions of professionalism in the different specialisms are
gendered and ordered hierarchically. Gender is an encompassing conceptual frame for ordering
discursive attributes of the different specialisms. Working long and unpredictable hours was central to
accountants’ understandings of their professional life. Socialising with clients was seen as functional
in bringing new opportunities to the firm. Socialising with peers also was deemed important,
especially in solving internal frictions and in controlling new entrants’ behaviour in firms. The more
“public” the ideology of a specialism, the more masculine it was perceived to be.
Originality/value – This study challenges the uniform representations of professional identities
offered by previous studies. It suggests that gender offers a discursive and ideological frame of
reference for accountancy whose relevance extends beyond the working practices of men and women
to the very constitution of the profession. It does so with reference to an original mix of qualitative and
quantitative data.

Keywords Gender, Accounting profession, Accounting specialisms

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Ketersediaan

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

No. Panggil

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Penerbit

: Emeral Group., 2013

Deskripsi Fisik

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal Vol. 26 No. 8, 2013 pp. 1212-1245

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

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Klasifikasi

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Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Subjek

AKUNTANSI

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

Asmawati/Syahrial

Versi lain/terkait

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