Women Say Accounting & Finance Careers Offer Life-Work Balance: Study

This year’s survey includes findings in several key areas.

A recommended profession with not enough mentors:

• 28% of women and 31% of men reported that they had never had a mentor or role model to support their careers in the accounting and finance profession.
• Approximately two-thirds of men and women said they believed role models are critical to a successful accounting and finance career.
• 80% of women and 86% of men would recommend the profession to a family member.
• 88% of men and 86% of women would absolutely recommend the profession to young women.

Best practices for encouraging young women to enter the field:

• More than half of women and men believe there is a need for greater promotion of accounting and finance as a career choice for women.
• Half of the women and men surveyed claimed more mentoring programs would help.
• About one-third of women and 26% of men felt more educational programs about the field are necessary to pique interest.
• A third of women but only 13% of men said greater availability of scholarship grants would incentivize people to join the profession.

Important factors leading to successful finance and accounting career:

• 48% of men and 51% of women rate accounting and finance skills and expertise as the top factor to success.
• 41% of women and 39% of men named relationship building and personal networking.
• 41% of men said developing management skills was a priority compared with only 22% of women who did.
• 37% of men and 34% of women claimed that gaining accounting and finance experience is critical to personal success.

Career satisfaction:

• Women (48%) expressed less satisfaction with the progression of their accounting and finance careers than men (59%).
• Women in accounting and finance ranked being challenged (35%), compensation (27%) and flexibility (12%) as the most important factors to satisfaction in their careers.
• On the other hand, men ranked compensation (35%), being challenged (29%) and flexibility (12%) as the most important factors to satisfaction in their careers.