Scottish Accountants Looking To Close The Gender Gap

Thu, 16 Aug 2007

Accountancy firms based in Scotland are looking at introducing a range of flexible working initiatives that will attempt to address the profession's gender gap.

According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS), some of the changes made to make it easier for women to progress in the accountancy industry include allowing them to take part in promotion assessments while on maternity leave .

The ICAS believe that accountancy firms need to address the needs of women more considerably and embrace flexible thinking.

"We have to get across the message that having children is not in any way a disadvantage," said Isobel Sharp, president of ICAS.

A recent report from the accountancy organisation indicated that younger women are rising through the ranks, as the number of women who are training and qualifying as chartered accountants in the country, along with the number of female managers, is now roughly in line with the intake of female students on accounting-related courses .

But on the downside, the research also points to the fact that a disparity remains within more senior positions in the chartered accountancy profession and at partnership level, especially in larger firms. Only ten per cent of partners in the ‘Big Four’ UK accountancy firms are currently women, it was revealed.

In order to close the gender gap, the report suggests that more working flexibility is needed to encourage more women at senior level, a cultural change in the working environment and more proactive and positive marketing of the flexible message to employees .
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