The authors’ findings provide public accounting firms with critical factors that can enhance gender equality. Specifically, the findings indicate that (1) firms that offer more support from organizational leaders, (2) firms that provide higher levels of support for alternative work arrangement initiatives, and (3) firms that provide stronger ethical climates are each negatively associated with perceived gender discrimination, suggesting that organizational climate factors have a strong impact on female auditors’ perceptions of gender equality. The findings suggest that female accounting professionals must reach high-status positions within the organizational structure to substantively influence perceptions of gender equality. Public accounting firms should encourage formal and informal mentoring relationships targeting female auditors. 

Dalton, D. W., J. R. Cohen, N. L. Harp, and J. J. McMillan. 2014. Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Gender Discrimination in the Audit Profession. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 33 (3): 1-32.

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