Do Mother and Father Auditors Have Equal Prospects for Career Advancement?

Abstract

This research investigates whether parental role and gender are associated with career advancement for professional female and male auditors employed by international audit firms in Denmark. Management at four levels, from partner to lower level non-management employee, are examined to determine whether a relationship holds between being a parent and gender. We find that more parents achieve advancement to higher levels of employment than non-parents. However, mothers are significantly disadvantaged relative to fathers in achieving senior levels of employment. There is no significant difference in the likelihood of career advancement between female and male auditors that are not parents implied by a lack of significant results for the gender variable in the regression analyses. Years of experience also significantly explains career advancement in the organization while age is significantly correlated with experience of the auditor.

Women’s prospects for career advancement: Narratives of women in core mining positions in a South African mining organisation

“…Nemoto (2013) cautions that the antidiscrimination policies may not always prevent gender bias as corroborated by the 'invisible' barriers that women encounter in their career trajectories. As observed in this study, and in support of the existing literature, when organisations create female disadvantage and male advantage, women's prospects for career advancement are curtailed (Acker, 1990(Acker, , 2012Kristensen et al, 2017;Martin, 2001). Despite the vast potential to contribute positively to the goals of the organisation, women like Participant 3 find it difficult to 'crack' the glass ceiling (Davis & Maldonado, 2015).…”

“…The women's experiences revealed that the hours of work were more suitable for male life patterns. However, previous researchers have unveiled how hours of work are socially constructed along gendered life cycles (Kristensen et al, 2017). Hours of work are constructed around the ideal worker who is essentially a man because he is unencumbered by home and family responsibilities.…”

“…Hours of work are constructed around the ideal worker who is essentially a man because he is unencumbered by home and family responsibilities. Many women perform public sphere work during the day, for a wage, and when they arrive home they take the unpaid 'second shift' work that involves childcare and housework (Hochschild, 1989;Kristensen et al, 2017;Martin, 1994;Nelson & Burke, 2000). Women and men devote significantly different time to work and family, deepening the intensity of women's struggles to balance their dual roles as workers and caretakers.…”

“…Gendered subtext and gendered organisational logic reveal how gendered identities account for the belief that men and women are different and that work should be divided according to gender (Acker, 2012). For example, the home is regarded as the place where women express their nurturing and caring skills by caring for babies and raising children because they are thought to be nurturing and caring (Acker, 1990;Handy & Rowlands, 2014;Kristensen et al, 2017). Similarly, the division of work by gender locates paid work in organisations -entities that are fundamentally different from the location of most unpaid work; that is, the home.…”

“…The public-private dichotomy disadvantages women because they perform most of the so-called private work. However, many women perform public-sphere, paid work during the day, and when they arrive home they take the 'second shift' of unpaid childcare and housework (Blair-et al, 2015;Hochschild, 1989;Kristensen et al, 2017;Martin, 1994). According to Hochschild (1989), the 'second shift' stalled the gender equality revolution.…”