The Pay Equity Scandal : A Holistic Consideration of Factors Influencing Pay Equity in the Accounting Profession
Recently a bombshell survey was released that revealed female chartered accountants are paid on average 60,000 less than male chartered accountants. It’s hit the news, been all over Linkedin, and has seen the president of CAANZ deliver a statement that “this survey has revealed some uncomfortable truths” and that this “paint(s) a challenging picture for women in accounting over the life of their careers”.
The annual survey suggests that male accountants continue to hold more senior positions within this field and argues that there remains an inherent unconscious bias behind the gender pay gap within the profession.
Other studies we have researched suggest that varying degrees of pervasive forms of gender bias occur frequently in both overt and covert ways within the finance sector. In a recent Harvard study, it was noted that more than 150 female executives within the finance sector found strong agreement that gender bias and structural disadvantages are still impeding women’s success. A particularly prevalent issue highlighted by these woman was the imbalance of both compensation and promotion – with nine out of ten women agreeing that women are disadvantaged in these matters.
This is definitely a huge issue and one that requires attention, however I would argue that attacking the profession in isolation is possibly a bit misguided. In fact I believe that this survey illustrates more systemic issues within society. Executive roles in the Accounting sector still often expect 50 – 60 hour + weeks and Archway has seen some senior executives take 60 hour roles for the “work/life balance” despite being ‘contracted’ to perform 40 hour weeks. There are also broader societal issues around historical gendered roles, both at home and in the office, that see many woman willing to sacrifice pay and promotion to prioritise family and worklife balance. A 2021 survey found that nearly 50% of females take large career breaks for parental care whilst comparatively 20% of males take these breaks. This parental sacrifice may result in the likelihood of females remaining in the same positions and not progressing at the same rate or choosing to apply for these SLT positions. This issue is not isolated to accounting whatsoever and is seen across most industries.
Anecdotally, none of Archway Recruitment consultants could identify a time that they saw females on shortlists receive disparate pay to their male counterparts and we endeavor to ensure a diverse range of candidates (across culture, age, or gender) are presented for most roles. In fact for many ‘junior’ roles there is possibly an imbalance toward female applicants and CAANZ have reported that there is a notable trend in the sector each year with more woman registering as Provisional CAs rather than men and a huge variety of applicants from differing cultures (particularly from Asia and the Subcontinent), meaning from a diversity perspective the future of accounting looks in good health. However we do see many woman advise us that they do not have the ambition to work in SLT positions in the future and prefer middle/upper management as a way to earn well whilst retaining some flexibility and work/life balance for their families.
In summary, we believe that pay equity, unconscious bias, and similarity attraction bias (amongst many others such as culture and age biases!) remains a massive issue for the accounting profession, however is not an issue in isolation for the sector, and the response is not to simply “raise woman’s pay”. There are many other broader societal gender issues that also need addressing and the profession (or organizations themselves!) may need to reflect on the expectation of overtime within the industry and how that may impact any ambition for diversity and/or equity within the sector. If we start getting this right, then given the changing demographics of young CAs entering the market the future looks bright for equity within the profession.
We’d be keen to hear your thoughts on this issue – what do you think of the findings in this article?
