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

• Author: Carolyn Windsor,Rikke Holmslykke Kristensen,Pamela Kent,Bent Warming‐Rasmussen
• Date: 01 March 2017
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ijau.12074

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

Rikke Holmslykke Kristensen,

1

Pamela Kent,

2

Bent Warming-Rasmussen

1

and Carolyn Windsor

3

1

Department of Entrepreneurshipand Relationship Management,University of Southern, Denmark

2

Adelaide Business School, University of Adelaide

3

Independent researcher

This research investigates whether parental role and gender are associated with career advancement for professional

female and maleauditors employed by internationalaudit firms in Denmark. Managementat four levels, from partner

to lower level non-management employee, areexamined to determine whether a relationship holds between being a

parent and gender. We find thatmore parents achieve advancement to higher levelsof employment than non-parents.

However, mothers are significantly disadvantaged relativeto 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 resultsfor the gender variable in the regression analyses. Years of experience

also significantly explains careeradvancement in the organizationwhile age is significantlycorrelated with experience

of the auditor.

Key words: Auditors’career advancement, parent, gender egalitarianism, female parent

1. INTRODUCTION

We examine whether mothers and fathers have equal

prospects for career advancement in large audit firms in

Denmark. Denmark is an interesting country to study

because it values genderegalitarianism, evidenced by state

and institutional support for families with children in the

workplace(House & Javidan, 2004). However,it is possible

that the social aim of gender egalitarianism in Denmark is

symbolic and not achieved in practical outcomes. The

European Commission’s research project Women to the Top

(Jämställdhetsombudsmannen, 2005) investigates the

gender imbalance in management ranks at the executive

level (directorsand chief executive officers, CEOs) because

this is the most male-dominated category in the European

workforce. This research reports that only 4 per cent of

the CEOs and 7 per cent of the board members in Danish

private companies are women. Similar results apply to

the public sector. Denmark has the highest female activity

rate/labour market participation in the world,

1

although

there appears to be a lack of female managers in

Denmark. We provide evidence on the issue of gender

egalitarianism defined as the societal institutionalization

of gender equality (Gornick & Meyers, 2008) for large

accounting firms in Denmark with a particular emphasis

on the career outcomes for mothers and fathers.

We add to research conducted in the Swedish audit

industry that investigates gender-based career differences

and childcare (Månsson, Elg & Jonnergård, 2013). We

specificallyexamine the impact of being a mother or father

in Denmarkrather than examining thegender of the person

that cares for the children. We also contribute to a

deficiency in gender research (Kornberger, Carter &

Ross-Smith 2010) by introducing social cultural theories to

add theory and knowledge to gender research in accounting.

The study is important for three reasons. First, gender

equality at all levels in the workplace is seen as vital for

women’s fair access to social, economic, cultural and

political affluence and influence. The reality is that

discriminationstill exists and affectswomen in many ways,

including theirlack of advancement to seniormanagement

in spite of decades of national and international

commitment to gender equality (Gornick & Meyers, 2003;

International Labour Office, 2009; England, 2010). The

interaction in the workplace between women and men,

including their socially constructed gender roles and

biological differences, is fundamental to effective work

(International Labour Office, 2009). The International

Labour Office (2009) articulates two reasons why sex

discrimination should be eliminated in the workplace and

home. The first reason is a rights-based perspective that

asserts that discrimination against women at work is a

matter of fundamental human rights and justice. The

second reason is an economic-efficiency rationale that

recognizesthe critical role women play as economic agents

assisting economic growth and poverty reduction

(International Labour Office, 2009).

Second, the study is important to the accounting

profession in Denmark and other countries. In 2003, the

Danish Institute of State-Authorized Public Accountants

established a Committee on Female Career Advancement

to provide solutions to overcome the lack of female audit

partners in Danish audit firms. Their report reflected the

committee’s concern about promoting more females from

the Master of Accounting degree level to the higher

managerial levels, including partnership (Foreningen af

Statsautoriserede Revisorer (FSR), 2004). The accounting

profession publicly maintains a goal of achieving gender

equality in the workplace (Kornberger et al., 2010).

Third, behavioural differencesbetween women and men

have important inferences for the quality of auditing and

financial reporting (Ittonen, Vähämaa & Vähämaa, 2013).

Previousresearch indicatesthat females perform differently

to males in audit and business outcomes, and that it adds

value to have a balance of female and male auditors.

Evidence from a sample of public firms in Finland,

Denmark and Swedenshows that audits with female audit

engagement partners have significantly higher audit fees.

One of the explanations suggested is that female partners

tolerate less risk, leading to increased audit effort (Ittonen

& Peni, 2012). Research from a sample of Finnish and

Swedish listed companies also found that companies

audited by female audit engagement partners had smaller

abnormal accruals. This implies that female auditors

restrain earnings management (Ittonen et al., 2013).

Correspondenceto: Pamela Kent, Adelaide Business School, University of

Adelaide.E-mail: pamela.kent@adelaide.edu.au

International Journal of Auditing doi: 10.1111/ijau.12074

Int. J. Audit. 21:1–10(2017)

©2016 John Wiley& Sons Ltd ISSN 1090-6738