Where are the female CFOs?

Gail Webber, Don Webber, Dominic Page and Timothy Hinks
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Gail Webber: University of the West of England, Bristol
Dominic Page: University of South Wales

Working Papers from Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Bristol

Abstract: Most Chief Financial Officers are male even though female accountants should be well-placed to occupy these board-level positions. This article examines the impact of interactions between parenthood and the organisational environment on the career trajectory of women in the executive pipeline. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with middle management female accountants we reveal that parenthood temporarily changed their preferences for work-hours in order to balance career aspirations with desires to care for children, but they subsequently experienced discrimination as their managers and/or colleagues perceived flexible working to be synonymous with lower prioritisation of the organisation. In contrast, all women who were able to work part-time with their original employer while their children were young resumed successful careers once their children were older. If society wishes to increase the number of women at board-level then workplace culture must be developed to integrate and facilitate flexible work practises at all organisational levels.

Keywords: Women; Parenthood; Accounting; Work Life Balance; Hampton targets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-01-03
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwe:wpaper:20171703

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