Career progression of young female accountants: evidence from the accountancy profession in Ireland

nvestigates the career progression of young female Certified Public Accountants in Ireland. Focuses on generation X accountants. A total of 12 male and 12 female accountants were interviewed. All were under the age of 30 and qualified as within the past five years. Aims to examine: whether the young generation of female accountants has encountered the “glass ceiling”; if there is a tendency for male dominance in professional accountancy practices or in industry; whether gender affects one’s ability to network socially; and the ability of the young accountants to balance their home and work lives. This study is particularly relevant, as previous research studies conducted with accountants have focused on older generations. The results of the study show that young female accountants encounter obstacles in their careers because of their gender. The female accountants in this study suggest that male dominance will persist in accountancy practices. Our findings also suggest that an important challenge for managers today is managing generation Xers, who work to live and do not live to work. Finally, the research findings from this study contribute primarily to the extant research on women in the accountancy profession. Also contributes to the corpus of knowledge on women in management, career development, and the development and management of generation X.