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There are a number of strategies firms can adopt to ensure they’re addressing gender imbalance in the accounting profession.
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Education, equal pay and efforts to retain talent the key to gender equality
09 December 2021
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Speaking as part of a soon-to-be-released white paper addressing gender equality in accounting, two more practitioners have offered up their thoughts on what can be done to ensure a level playing field when it comes to women and their male colleagues.
“I sent my CV to a local HR company looking for a retail job when I was at uni studying my commerce degree. They put me forward for a full time accounting role and I got the job. I started as the junior accountant and found it incredibly difficult. I didn’t swim; I almost sank,” shared IQ Accountants’ managing partner Kyelie Baxter (pictured).
“But I found my feet and also my love for accounting and clients. The partners noticed me and offered me a career path and by 23 I was a partner. I relocated to the Gold Coast to run the branch there and eventually bought out my partners to own the firm, which is now IQ Accountants.”
While Ms Baxter’s has had a positive experience in building her career, she said she’s seen women face both a pay and opportunity gap in the profession.
“Timing is a factor. Taking into consideration study and work experience, a female reaches her peak salary earning period around the same time she is also considering flexible work options for family or other reasons. Generally, men don’t face this situation. I had just bought out my business partner when my husband and I decided to start our family,” she said.
“We agreed he would stay at home with our children and I would return to the office almost immediately. I was back at work within a week of having my babies. But being self-employed, I had flexibility. I purposely started my family at a time when I could have control over my work.”
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If accounting firms are to address the challenges that many women face in the profession, they need to offer genuinely flexible solutions that suit each person’s needs, according to Ms Baxter.
“Education would help to change organisational culture and traditional mindsets. There is already such a skills shortage in our industry. Allowing a group of people with wonderful skills and knowledge to exit the industry without offering different pathways and then creating barriers for re-entry is frustrating,” she said.
“We need to make intentional changes if we want to see improvement. Talking about it is excellent as it raises awareness but we need to implement practical options for women to continue working in accounting to make a real difference.”
For Anuradha Thiers, founder of Anuradha Thiers Bookkeeping & Accounting Services, there’s an opportunity for women to demand the same as their male colleagues.
“I am confident of my skills and have changed jobs when I was underpaid. I believe women are lot stronger in the workforce than they are perceived. When women ask for what they want and rightfully deserve, a smart employer will ensure they receive it,” she said.
“Good employees are hard to come by and women need to have the courage to realise their self-worth.”
To redress the gender imbalance in accounting, Ms Thiers says it’s important for firms to offer equal pay and recognise the talent each employee brings to the business.
“The genders, including transgender people, are equals and women and other minority groups should recognise and realise their potential,” she said.
To address gender equality in the accounting industry, Intuit QuickBooks has partnered with Accountants Daily for a webcast. The webcast will unpack recent research speaking to the challenges women in accounting face, and tackle the big issues like addressing the gender pay gap, the barriers to leadership faced by men and women, the need for flexible work, technology and support needed from government and professional bodies.
The webcast will feature Shaye Thyer, head of accounting at Intuit QuickBooks; Aly Garrett, founder, All in Advisory; Peter McCarthy, owner, Precision Taxation & Accounting; Matthew Rowan, practice solutions expert at Dext; and Joe Consedine, general manager, member engagement at CA ANZ.
The webcast will be held today (9 December 2021) between 2pm and 3pm AEDT.
To register for the webcast, click here.
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