IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nax/conyad/v63y2018i2p92-115.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Glass ceiling in the accounting profession: Evidence in Brazilian companies

Author

Listed:
  • Júlio César da Silva

    (Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Brasil)

  • Cristian Baú Dal Magro

    (Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Brasil)

  • Marcello Christiano Gorla

    (Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Brasil)

  • Marcia Zanievicz da Silva

    (Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Brasil)

Abstract

Although there are several studies on gender differences in occupations, few studies address the accounting profession, in particular those related to the occurrence of the glass ceiling effect, a barrier that hinders and even prevents the career growth of women. In this context, the study aims to verify the influence of glass ceiling in relation to gender inequality in the accounting profession. The investigated population consists of professionals in accounting from companies located in southern Brazil, and the sample consists of 34,886 observations. The results indicate that the top positions in the Accounting Auditor and Accountant professions are held predominantly by men. A difference in pay was observed, as men receive higher remunerations than women in similar functions. There is a predominance of accounting male professionals in large companies and female professionals in small and medium-sized businesses, and men tend to stay longer in positions of the accounting profession in the same company. It is concluded that the occurrence of glass ceiling influences on the increased difficulty of access for women in key positions in the accounting profession, confirming the gender inequality observed in studies regarding other professional activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Júlio César da Silva & Cristian Baú Dal Magro & Marcello Christiano Gorla & Marcia Zanievicz da Silva, 2018. "Glass ceiling in the accounting profession: Evidence in Brazilian companies," Contaduría y Administración, Accounting and Management, vol. 63(2), pages 92-115, Abril-Jun.
    • Handle: RePEc:nax:conyad:v:63:y:2018:i:2:p:92-115
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.cya.unam.mx/index.php/cya/article/view/928/956
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zoltan Acs & Elena Bardasi & Saul Estrin & Jan Svejnar, 2011. "Introduction to special issue of Small Business Economics on female entrepreneurship in developed and developing economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 393-396, November.
    2. 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.
    3. Kathryn Haynes, 2008. "Moving the gender agenda or stirring chicken's entrails?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 539-555, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Lehman, Cheryl R., 1992. ""Herstory" in accounting: The first eighty years," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 261-285.
    6. Elisabeth K. Kelan, 2008. "The Discursive Construction of Gender in Contemporary Management Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(2), pages 427-445, August.
    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. Lisa Cullen & Theo Christopher, 2012. "Career Progression of Female Accountants in the State Public Sector," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 22(1), pages 68-85, March.
    9. Stefan Bach, 2014. "Frauen erzielen im Durchschnitt nur halb so hohe Einkommen wie Männer," DIW Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 81(35), pages 803-813.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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).
    2. 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.
    3. Michèle Saboly & Rim Khemiri, 2011. "Les femmes experts-comptables en Tunisie : Perceptions et réalités," Post-Print hal-00650536, HAL.
    4. Lambert, Caroline & Dambrin, Claire, 2006. "La question du genre en comptabilité : analyses théoriques et méthodologiques," HEC Research Papers Series 843, HEC Paris.
    5. 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.
    6. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Virginie Lambert, 2006. "Le Plafond De Verre Dans Les Cabinets D'Audit Questions Theoriques Et Methodologiques," Post-Print halshs-00558352, HAL.
    7. 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.
    8. Gammie, Elizabeth & Whiting, Rosalind, 2013. "Women accountants: Is the grass greener outside the profession?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 83-98.
    9. Joyce, Yvonne & Walker, Stephen P., 2015. "Gender essentialism and occupational segregation in insolvency practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 41-60.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. Lehman, Cheryl R., 2019. "Reflecting on now more than ever: Feminism in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    13. Sian, S., 2023. "Off-ramps and on-ramps: Career continuity and discontinuity in professional accountancy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Galizzi, Giovanna & McBride, Karen & Siboni, Benedetta, 2024. "Patriarchy persists: Experiences of barriers to women's career progression in Italian accounting academia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Jeffrey R. Cohen & Derek W. Dalton & Lori L. Holder-Webb & Jeffrey J. McMillan, 2020. "An Analysis of Glass Ceiling Perceptions in the Accounting Profession," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 17-38, June.
    16. Claire Dambrin & Caroline Virginie Lambert, 2006. "Le Plafond De Verre Dans Les Cabinets D'Audit – Questions Theoriques Et Methodologiques," Post-Print halshs-00548047, HAL.
    17. Kokot, Patrizia, 2015. "Let's talk about sex(ism): Cross-national perspectives on women partners’ narratives on equality and sexism at work in Germany and the UK," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 73-85.
    18. Ioana Ioan, 2009. "Women in the French accountancy profession: the test of the labyrinth," Post-Print halshs-00475216, HAL.
    19. 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.
    20. Haynes, Kathryn, 2010. "Other lives in accounting: Critical reflections on oral history methodology in action," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 221-231.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Glass Ceiling; Gender inequality; Accounting profession; Accounting auditor; Brazilian companies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition
    • M4 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:nax:conyad:v:63:y:2018:i:2:p:92-115. 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: Alberto García-Narvaez (Technical Editor) (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fcunamx.html .

    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.