A Woman's Perspective on the Profession
Both sexes can benefit from more flexible attitudes toward work and scheduling. The battle of the sexes rages on! Despite the gains women have made in public accounting over the last 10 years, there are still major problems to be worked out. Last year, the American Institute of CPAs national practice management conference in Boston featured an early-morning session on women in the profession. Out of 300 participants at the conference, 75 (mostly men) came to hear a panel discuss how CPA firms can attract and retain women. Some of the suggestions included on-site Saturday day-care, flexible hours and part-time work schedules. After panel members gave their views, the floor was opened to discussion. One partner rose and expressed his frustration with female accountants. Among his complaints were 1. Women are too emotional and cry easily. 2. After an accountant in his firm gave birth, she had substantially less interest in her career. 3. Travel and overtime are problems as soon as female accountants have children. 4. Women quit their jobs when their spouses are relocated. 5. Women don't work well with other women. I stood up to respond to this participant's comments at the conference and this article grew out of the notes I made. As a CPA firm partner who's been in the profession for 14 years, I have some insights on women in public accounting. I received my accounting degree in 1978, worked in private industry for four years, have been in public accounting for nine years and a partner for five years. I also have three children, ages 3, 7 and 11. All three of these births were timed to be sure that they would fall outside tax season I am well aware of the problems working mothers face. Here are some of my own answers to concerns about women in the profession. EMOTIONALISM Yes, women do cry occasionally. I admit I have cried twice in my professional career, both times when I was pregnant and my hormones were raging wildly. I also have seen male employees get upset and use abusive language, threaten physical violence or just walk out the door. None of these is a good response to an upsetting situation, but crying is certainly no worse than any of the others. An abusive or violent employee could be the cause of a lawsuit or other serious problems for a firm; the same cannot be said of an employee who has a tendency to shed tears. If a manager or partner is always having a problem with female accountants crying, perhaps the real issue is that person's communication style. it really is not necessary to reduce an employee to tears in order to get a point across. MOTHERHOOD OR CAREER? A baby may indeed take precedence over a woman's career for a while. However, a 50 year-old male who survives a heart attack also might spend the first months after the attack focusing more of his attention on his family and personal life than on his career. Giving birth or surviving a heart attack are both highly emotional experiences that can change a person's priorities. Women accountants may be affected by their experiences with childbirth early in their careers, while male accountants are more vulnerable to heart disease later in life. What's important is that both men and women an benefit from a firm that takes care of its employees. All of us have clients who own several successful businesses, yet they don't spend 40 or 50 hours a week at each. If employers could think of working mothers as clients with two businesses, that of accountant and mother, perhaps more flexible work schedules would seem reasonable. The time spent being an accountant can still be very productive and lucrative to the firm. The skills at once, juggling several people's demands and keeping calm in the midst of chaos, also are the attributes of a successful CPA. TRAVEL AND OVERTIME These can be a problem for working mother. …