IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/aaajpp/v21y2008i4p507-538.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards the feminization of accounting practice

Author

Listed:
  • Naoko Komori

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to open up the Anglo‐centred argument in gender and accounting by exploring the relationship of women and accounting in a different social and cultural context. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on in‐depth ethnographical studies to explore the real‐ life experiences of 66 Japanese women (9 percent of all women CPAs) who have entered the accounting profession from a range of backgrounds and generations. Findings - The paper finds that some women accounting professionals in Japan have brought about changes in accounting practice there by applying a uniquely feminine approach in their day‐to‐day work. Their strict approach is attuned to the ongoing globalization in the field of accountancy, and this has helped to widen the opportunities for women. Research limitations/implications - This paper demonstrates that, in order to understand the issues surrounding gender and accounting, it is important to consider the prevailing social context and its underpinnings. In the Japanese “interdependent” social context, gender is intertwined in the process of accounting to establish its “independent” status. Practical implications - It has been argued that the unique social and cultural context in Japan will make it difficult for the country to converge its accounting and auditing with global standards. By incorporating a gender perspective, the paper aims to clarify the social assumptions under which accounting and auditing operate in Japan. Originality/value - By making a close analysis of the process by which Japanese women have entered the accounting profession, the paper reveals the connection between the growing significance of auditing and the changing role and position of women.

Suggested Citation

  • Naoko Komori, 2008. "Towards the feminization of accounting practice," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 507-538, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:21:y:2008:i:4:p:507-538
    DOI: 10.1108/09513570810872905
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513570810872905/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513570810872905/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/09513570810872905?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson-Gough, Fiona & Grey, Christopher & Robson, Keith, 2005. ""Helping them to forget..": the organizational embedding of gender relations in public audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 469-490, July.
    2. Loft, Anne, 1992. "Accountancy and the gendered division of labour: A review essay," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 367-378.
    3. Barker, Patricia C. & Monks, Kathy, 1998. "Irish women accountants and career progression: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 813-823, November.
    4. Anne Loft & Christopher Humphrey & Stuart Turley, 2006. "In pursuit of global regulation: Changing governance and accountability structures at the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(3), pages 428-451, April.
    5. Dore, Ronald, 2000. "Stock Market Capitalism: Welfare Capitalism: Japan and Germany versus the Anglo-Saxons," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199240616, Decembrie.
    6. Hooks, Karen L., 1992. "Gender effects and labor supply in public accounting: An agenda of research issues," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 343-366.
    7. Roberts, Jennifer & Coutts, J. Andrew, 1992. "Feminization and professionalization: A review of an emerging literature on the development of accounting in the United Kingdom," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 379-395.
    8. Masato Kikuya, 2001. "International harmonization of Japanese accounting standards," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 349-368.
    9. Walker, S. P., 1998. "How to secure your husband's esteem. Accounting and private patriarchy in the British middle class household during the nineteenth century," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 485-514.
    10. McKinnon, Jill L. & Harrison, Graeme L., 1985. "Cultural influence on corporate and governmental involvement in accounting policy determination in Japan," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 201-223.
    11. Garry D. Carnegie & Stephen P. Walker, 2007. "Household accounting in Australia: a microhistorical study," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(2), pages 210-236, April.
    12. Crompton, Rosemary, 1987. "Gender and accountancy: A response to Tinker and Neimark," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 103-110, January.
    13. Maupin, Rebekah J. & Lehman, Cheryl R., 1994. "Talking heads: Stereotypes, status, sex-roles and satisfaction of female and male auditors," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 427-437.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lupu, Ioana, 2012. "Approved routes and alternative paths: The construction of women's careers in large accounting firms. Evidence from the French Big Four," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 351-369.
    2. Dillard, Jesse & Reynolds, MaryAnn, 2011. "Re-stor(y)ing social change," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 492-499.
    3. Komori, Naoko, 2015. "Beneath the globalization paradox: Towards the sustainability of cultural diversity in accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 141-156.
    4. Mara Del Baldo & Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women’s Role in the Accounting Profession: A Comparative Study between Italy and Romania," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Kamla, Rania, 2019. "Religion-based resistance strategies, politics of authenticity and professional women accountants," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 52-69.
    6. Philip Law, 2010. "Examination of the actual turnover decisions of female auditors in public accounting: Evidence from Hong Kong," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(5), pages 484-502, May.
    7. Edgley, Carla & Sharma, Nina & Anderson-Gough, Fiona, 2016. "Diversity and professionalism in the Big Four firms: Expectation, celebration and weapon in the battle for talent," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 13-34.
    8. Dambrin, Claire & Lambert, Caroline, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-16.
    9. Agrizzi, Dila & Soobaroyen, Teerooven & Alsalloom, Abeer, 2021. "Spatiality and accounting: The case of female segregation in audit firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Komori, Naoko, 2012. "Visualizing the negative space: Making feminine accounting practices visible by reference to Japanese women's household accounting practices," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 451-467.
    11. Kuasirikun, Nooch, 2011. "The portrayal of gender in annual reports in Thailand," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 53-78.
    12. Lehman, Cheryl R., 2019. "Reflecting on now more than ever: Feminism in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    13. Chiara Oppi & Caterina Cavicchi & Emidia Vagnoni, 2021. "The Journey to Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Lessons Learned from Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.
    14. Sian, S. & Agrizzi, D. & Wright, T. & Alsalloom, A., 2020. "Negotiating constraints in international audit firms in Saudi Arabia: Exploring the interaction of gender, politics and religion," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. Ogharanduku, Bridget Efeoghene & Jackson, William J. & Paterson, Audrey S., 2021. "Beautiful SWAN, or ugly duckling? The attempt to reduce gender inequality by the Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    16. Jane Broadbent & Linda Kirkham, 2008. "Glass ceilings, glass cliffs or new worlds?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 465-473, May.
    17. Sian, S., 2023. "Off-ramps and on-ramps: Career continuity and discontinuity in professional accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    18. Kurek Bartosz & Górowski Ireneusz, 2020. "Gender and Age as Determinants of Expected Rate of Return on Human Capital," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 28(4), pages 30-50, December.
    19. Ummuhan Aslan & Zeynep Hatunoglu, 2012. "A research on the women accountants in Turkey," International Journal of Economics and Accounting, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1), pages 32-50.
    20. Kamla, Rania, 2012. "Syrian women accountants’ attitudes and experiences at work in the context of globalization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 188-205.
    21. Hammond, Theresa & Clayton, Bruce M. & Arnold, Patricia J., 2012. "An “unofficial” history of race relations in the South African accounting industry, 1968–2000: Perspectives of South Africa's first black chartered accountants," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 332-350.
    22. Walaa Wahid ElKelish*, 2023. "Accounting for Corporate Human Rights: Literature Review and Future Insights," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(2), pages 203-226, June.
    23. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dambrin, Claire & Lambert, Caroline, 2012. "Who is she and who are we? A reflexive journey in research into the rarity of women in the highest ranks of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-16.
    2. Lambert, Caroline & Dambrin, Claire, 2006. "La question du genre en comptabilité : analyses théoriques et méthodologiques," HEC Research Papers Series 843, HEC Paris.
    3. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Virginie Lambert, 2006. "Le Plafond De Verre Dans Les Cabinets D'Audit Questions Theoriques Et Methodologiques," Post-Print halshs-00558352, HAL.
    4. Sian, S. & Agrizzi, D. & Wright, T. & Alsalloom, A., 2020. "Negotiating constraints in international audit firms in Saudi Arabia: Exploring the interaction of gender, politics and religion," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Dambrin, Claire & Lambert, Caroline, 2007. "Motherhood: The key to the glass ceiling ? the case of the big four in France," HEC Research Papers Series 862, HEC Paris.
    6. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Virginie Lambert, 2006. "Le Plafond De Verre Dans Les Cabinets D'Audit – Questions Theoriques Et Methodologiques," Post-Print halshs-00548047, HAL.
    7. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Lambert, 2008. "Mothering or auditing? The case of two Big Four in France," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 474-506, May.
    8. Lupu, Ioana, 2012. "Approved routes and alternative paths: The construction of women's careers in large accounting firms. Evidence from the French Big Four," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 351-369.
    9. Michèle Saboly & Rim Khemiri, 2011. "Les femmes experts-comptables en Tunisie : Perceptions et réalités," Post-Print hal-00650536, HAL.
    10. Ioana Ioan, 2009. "Women in the French accountancy profession: the test of the labyrinth," Post-Print halshs-00475216, HAL.
    11. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    12. Almer, Elizabeth Dreike & Lightbody, Margaret G. & Single, Louise E., 2012. "Successful promotion or segregation from partnership? An examination of the “post-senior manager” position in public accounting and the implications for women's careers," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 122-133.
    13. Stephen P. Walker, 2008. "Accounting histories of women: beyond recovery?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 580-610, May.
    14. Maria-Victoria Uribe-Bohorquez & Juan-Camilo Rivera-Ordóñez & Isabel-María García-Sánchez, 2023. "Gender disparities in accounting academia: analysis from the lens of publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(7), pages 3827-3865, July.
    15. Lehman, Cheryl R., 2019. "Reflecting on now more than ever: Feminism in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Barker, Patricia C. & Monks, Kathy, 1998. "Irish women accountants and career progression: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 813-823, November.
    17. Komori, Naoko, 2012. "Visualizing the negative space: Making feminine accounting practices visible by reference to Japanese women's household accounting practices," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 451-467.
    18. Bitbol-Saba, Nathalie & Dambrin, Claire, 2019. "“It’s not often we get a visit from a beautiful woman!” The body in client-auditor interactions and the masculinity of accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    19. Faragalla Widad Atena & Adriana Tiron-Tudor, 2019. "Gender as a Dimension of Inequality in Accounting Organizations and Developmental HR Strategies," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, December.
    20. Adriana Tiron-Tudor & Widad Atena Faragalla, 2018. "Women Career Paths in Accounting Organizations: Big4 Scenario," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:21:y:2008:i:4:p:507-538. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.