The effect of gender and parental role on auditors’ professional career advancement

Gender equality in the workplace is vital to ensure fair access to social, economic andpolitical influence associated with career advancement. International labour studies showwomen are still concentrated in lower level management positions. The auditing profession isno different with few women attaining partner level. This research investigates whetherparental role and gender affects career advancement of professional auditors employed bytransnational audit firms in Denmark where institutional family policies encourage genderegalitarianism. A three-way analysis of covariance examines the dependent variable ofmanagement at four levels including partner to non-management employee, plus theindependent factors of gender, parental status and the number of years working in audit.Current findings demonstrate that a mothers’ advancement contrasts with the fathers’advancement to partner level, with nearly nine times more fathers at partner level thanmothers. Results of this research suggest that gender and parental status do matter forpromotion in international audit firms that appear to be still male dominated and impervious to contextual gender egalitarianism.