The Effects of Personality Traits on Women ’ s Advancement in Public Accounting Firms

This study examines partners perceptions about the influence of stereotypical personality traits on the advancement of women, and whether partners perceptions are consistent with the perceptions of the other professional personnel in the firm. Partners do not perceive a difference in the influence of stereotypical feminine traits and stereotypical masculine traits on women’s advancement. With the exception of male managers, men and women at all other positions perceive a difference in the influence of feminine traits and masculine traits, and the mean ratings for masculine traits were higher, i.e., more beneficial, than for feminine traits. Results also indicate that the perceptions of women about the influence of feminine traits are different than the perceptions of partners, while the perceptions of men are statistically the same as partners. Partners’ ratings of feminine traits were higher, i.e., more beneficial, than the ratings of women at all other positions. Perceptions of both women and men at all other positions about the influence of masculine behaviors are statistically the same as partner’s perceptions. INTRODUCTION Times have changed from the days when public accounting firms had an excess of highly qualified applicants for entry level positions. In the “White” Paper (1989), the chief executive officers of the former Big Eight accounting firms expressed concern about the declining quantity of accounting graduates. During the same time frame, public accounting firms have increased the range of specialized services provided to clients. These changes have created a need for proportionally more experienced personnel (Abernathy, 1990; AICPA, 1989; Biggs, 1986). Therefore, public accounting firms must take the initiative to retain a higher percentage of the existing talent pool (Collins, 1993). Women earned fifty-three percent of the combined master’s and bachelor’s degrees awarded in 1993-1995 (AICPA, 1996). In 1980, women comprised only 35% of all accounting graduates (AICPA, 1980). During the past fifteen years women’s presence in public accounting has steadily increased until they now represent the majority of new hires. At a time when women comprise the majority of entry level personnel and market imperatives suggest that it is critical for firms to retain their experienced personnel, Hooks and Cheramy (1994) determined that genderrelated turnover differences are most prevalent in the senior-supervisor and manager ranks of the larger CPA firms. It appears that attracting and retaining the brightest women is one of the key challenges facing public accounting firms. Retention of women is multifaceted, consisting primarily of family-related and career advancement issues. While these issues are interconnected, each is distinctly different. CPA firms have focused on family-related programs, such as, flexible hours and day care, to improve retention of women (In Practice, 1993). However, focusing solely on these programs does nothing to create an environment or culture that is conducive to women’s upward mobility (Higham and Libby, 1994). Fifty-five percent of the respondents to a recent American Women’s Society of Certified Public Accountant’s (AWSCPA) membership survey report leaving their job because they had reached or would reach an invisible barrier to career advancement. Seventy-five percent of these respondents were from public accounting firms (Heaton and Simmons, 1994). While some progress has been made, women are still under-represented at the highest levels. This is evidenced by the relatively low percentage of female partners. The most recent data available from the AICPA (1996) reports that women comprise only 7% of the partners in firms with more than 10 members. Even though female senior managers have recently been promoted to partner in numbers pr oportionate (twenty-six percent) to their representation in the senior manager ranks, women are not being promoted to partner in numbers representative of their total representation in public accounting. This is because of their disproportionate turnover at the senior-supervisor and manager level (Hooks and Cheramy, 1994). One possible factor explored by prior research is whether women have different personality profiles than their male counterparts. Prior Research Earnest and Lampe (1982) and Johnson and Dierks (1982) found no differences in the personality profiles of male and female accountants. In contrast to these earlier studies, Davidson and Dalby (1993) found that the overall personality profiles of male and female accountants are significantly different (five of sixteen primary factors). They found that women are more likely to be self-reliant, skeptical, practical, and are more socially precise with a stronger sense of self-image, while m n are more likely to be self-assured. This study also found that males and females shared many common personality characteristics (six of sixteen primary factors). Both female and male accountants are very intelligent, assertive, enthusiastic, self-sufficient, open-minded, and hard driving. Davidson and Dalby (1993) also investigated differences among women based on their position, and found that the personality profiles of female staff and seniors compared to female managers and partners are not significantly different. While Davidson and Dalby (1993) examined overall personality profiles, Maupin (1990) examined one aspect of personality. Maupin identified the sex-type (feminine, masculine, androgynous or undifferentiated)[1] of 461 CPAs using the 60-item Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI). An individual’s sex type is determined based on their responses to the series of items in the inventory. The BSRI has been used in numerous studies and has proven validity and reliability (Schmitt and Millard, 1988; Ballard-Reisch and Elton, 1992). The sex-types for the participants in Maupin’s study are shown in Figure 1. “take in Figure 1” While Maupin’s study was not longitudinal, it is interesting to note in Figure 1 that, in general, feminine behaviors decrease at each successive level until none exist at the partner level. Historically, the stereotype of an accountant has been that of a hard driving, self-reliant man (Johnson and Dierks, 1982). Research indicates that stereotypes such as this are “deeply rooted . and remarkably resistant to change” (Heilman et al, 1989, p.939). It is also widely believed that one must fit the stereotype, i.e., possess stereotypical masculine traits, to reach top managerial positions in public accounting firms (Lehman, 1990; Maupin, 1993). This results in an underlying assumption that masculine traits are inherent in partner and manager positions. Conversely, the literature has reported that feminine personality traits are detrimental to success in public accounting (Maupin, 1990), and that women must suppress typical feminine behaviors to achieve success in public accounting (Maupin, 1993). Several key points from prior research are important for our study. Maupin’s (1990) study indicates that feminine behaviors decrease at each successive level until none exist at the partner level, even though this same study indicates that approximately 25% of all persons and almost half of the women hired for entry level positions will probably be sex-typed feminine. According to Davidson and Dalby’s (1993) study, women who are sex-typed feminine should be very intelligent, assertive, enthusiastic, self-sufficient, open-minded, and hard driving just like their male counterparts. In addition, women who are sex-typed feminine should also be self-reliant, skeptical, practical, and socially precise with a strong sense of self-image. Given the findings about personalty traits and ability, prior research has not found any obvious reason why women who are sex-typed feminine should not be highly successful in public accounting, including advancement to the partner level. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Women who are sex-typed feminine appear to be leaving public accounting at higher rates than women who are sex-typed either masculine or androgynous. Developing an awareness or understanding of the influence of stereotypical personality traits on advancement in public accounting may provide some insight into one aspect of retention and promotion of women. Partners’ perceptions are of particular interest because partners are responsible for establishing and communicating those behaviors that are valued and rewarded in their organizations. It is also important to determine if the perceptions of partners are consistent with the perceptions of other professionals in the firm because, generally, behaviors and actions reflect what is rewarded within the organization. The purpose of this study is to ascertain perceptions about the influence of stereotypical personality traits on advancement of women to manager and partner levels in public accounting firms. The research questions examined in this study are: 1. Do partners, managers, seniors or staff perceive a difference in the influence of feminine versus masculine traits on a woman’s advancement? 2. Do partners’ perceptions of the influence of feminine and masculine personality traits on a woman’s advancement differ from the perceptions of managers, seniors, or staff? METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS Questionnaire A questionnaire with two forms was developed for this study. One form asked practicing accountants for their opinions about the influence of selected personality traits on a woman’s advancement (feminine questionnaire), the other form asked for opinions about the influence of the same personality traits on a man’s advancement (masculine questionnaire). The thirty-item short form of the BSRI, a refinement of the original sixty-item inventory, provided the basis for the questionnaire developed for this study[2] (Bem, 1978). The BSRI short form consists of ten masculine, ten feminine, and ten neutral personality traits. In developing the short form BSRI, Bem retained t