Advancement in Public Accounting:

The Effect of Gender and Personality Traits

Janice M. Raffield
Assistant Professor
Department of Accounting
Mail #MCN 6055
2115 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone (612) 962-5113
FAX (612) 962-5093
E -Mail jmraffield@stthomas.edu

Frank J. Coglitore
Associate Professor
Department of Accounting
University of St. Thomas
Mail #MCN 6010
2115 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone (612) 962-5542
FAX (612) 962-5093
E-Mail fjcoglitore@stthomas.edu
Abstract: This paper presents survey results which indicate that practicing accountants perceive a difference in
how certain stereotypical personality traits influence men and women's advancement to upper-level positions in
public accounting firms. Results also indicate that men and women differentially rate the influence of certain
traits. Additional testing was performed using factor analysis. The resulting factor patterns were highly similar for
the men and women who responded to the survey with regard to the nature and number of factors and the traits
which comprise each factor. Three factors (supportive behaviors, self-confident behaviors, and controlling
behaviors) were identified for a man's advancement, and two factors (supportive behaviors and masculine behaviors)
were identified for a woman's advancement. Masculine behaviors include both self-confident and controlling
behaviors. This suggests that, for a man, there is a clear distinction between behaviors that are controlling in nature
and those that are indicative of self-confidence; however, for a woman, the distinction between controlling and self-
confident behaviors does not appear to exist.
3
INTRODUCTION
Public accounting firms have consistently increased the range of services provided to clients. This increase in
specialized services has created a need for in-depth expertise in various areas. Consequently, personnel are no
longer as interchangeable as they once were (Abernathy, 1990; AICPA, 1989; Biggs, 1986). This coupled with
intense competition for talented personnel from the private sector suggest that public accounting may no longer have
a sufficient supply of competent employees to replace those who choose to leave. (Hooks and Cheramy, 1994).
Historically, accounting has been a male dominated profession. However, within the past fifteen years, the
number of women has steadily increased until they currently make up more than fifty percent of the entry-level
talent pool (AICPA, 1996; AICPA, 1980). 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 gender-related 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.
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 in CPA firms. The most recent data available from the AICPA (1996) reports that women comprise
only seven percent of the partners in firms with more than ten members.
Recently, female senior managers have been promoted to partner in numbers proportionate (twenty-six
percent) to their representation in the senior manager ranks. Women, however, are not being promoted to partner
in numbers representative of their total presence in public accounting because of their disproportionate turnover at
the senior-supervisor and manager level (Hooks and Cheramy, 1994). There is no obvious reason why women are
not retained at rates comparable to their male colleagues. One possible factor explored by prior research is whether
women have personality profiles that are different from their male counterparts (Earnest and Lampe, 1982; Johnson
and Dierks, 1982; Maupin, 1990; Lehman, 1990; Davidson and Dalby, 1993; Maupin, 1993).
Prior Research
A significant amount of prior accounting research about the influence of personality traits has primarily
focused on identifying traits possessed by those persons in top managerial positions in public accounting firms
(Maupin, 1990; Maupin, 1993; Lehman, 1990). These traits have then been ascribed to manager and partner
positions. This results in an underlying assumption that these traits are inherent in the position, uniformly impact all
who seek promotion, and are free from gender bias. However, research has shown that many personality traits have
a sex-stereotype associated with them (Bem, 1974). It is important to determine whether the influence of sex-
stereotyped personality traits on advancement differs based on the gender of the individual exhibiting these traits.
Although the data are anecdotal, the case of Ann Hopkins is an excellent example of the impact of sex-
stereotyped personality traits on advancement in public accounting (Knapp, 1996). Even though Hopkins was the
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top revenue generator of all partner nominees at Price Waterhouse, she was denied partnership because, among other
things, she was described as overbearing, too aggressive and as using foul language. Price Waterhouse granted
partnership to all other 87 nominees, all of them men and some of whom had been described in exactly the same
terms that provided the basis for denying Hopkins partnership. It appears that even though the quality of Hopkins'
work met the expectations for the partnership position, she was not promoted because her behavior was undesirable
for a female.
Developing an awareness about the influence of stereotypes is a vital step in eliminating behaviors or actions
based primarily on stereotypical views. Stereotypes are "deeply rooted, widely shared, remarkably resistant to
change" (Heilman et al, 1989, p. 939 ), and require significant mental energy to change (Heilman and Martell, 1986).
Gender schema theory suggest that some individuals encode and organize incoming information based on
stereotypical "pictures" of men and women (Schmitt and Millard, 1988), i.e., they evaluate behavior in terms of
whether it is proper for a woman or proper for a man. Masculine and feminine stereotypes are often accepted as fact
because they are part of a socialization process that is not consciously questioned. As a result one may attribute sex-
stereotyped personality traits to an individual, or one may refuse to accept these personality traits in an individual,
based solely on the individual's gender.
Bem (1974) identified personality traits that have a sex-stereotype attached to them. A trait "qualified as
masculine if it was judged to be more desirable in American society for a man than a woman, and it qualified as
feminine if it was judged to be more desirable for a woman than a man" (Bem, 1974, p. 156). Heilman's (1989)
findings suggest that the sex-stereotyped personality traits identified by Bem (1974) continue to persist, and are
useful in understanding barriers to women's career advancement.
Maupin (1990) identified the sex-type (feminine, masculine, androgynous, or undifferentiated)[1]

of 461
CPAs using the 60-item Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI). Approximately twenty-five percent of all persons and
almost half of all women in this study were sex-typed feminine. Yet, all 47 partners in the study (13 women) were
classified as either masculine or androgynous. Based on her data, Maupin concluded that a majority of the
accountants in upper level positions of CPA firms display androgynous behavior patterns.
Lehman (1990) questioned Maupin's (1990) interpretation of the results. Lehman asserted that: "Maupin
misinterprets the data by concluding that androgynous behavior, not sex-typed behavior, corresponds with success ...
in the accounting profession" (p. 140). Lehman noted that females who exhibit feminine behaviors decrease at each
successive level until there are none at the partner level, even though almost fifty percent of the female audit juniors
were sex-typed feminine. Based on Maupin's data, Lehman concluded that: "_ for men and women CPAs, a
significant factor in career _ success is masculine sex-typed behavior" (p. 142). Lehman's interpretation also
focuses on identifying the traits possessed by partners.
In a later study, Maupin (1993) surveyed 372 public accountants to determine whether they believed that
women's inherent personality traits and behavior patterns or the nature of the work environment faced by women
was responsible for the scarcity of female partners. Maupin found that the large majority of male participants
attributed women's general lack of success in public accounting to women's inherent personality traits, while the
majority of the female participants attributed this to the nature of the work environment.
5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Prior research has shown that certain personality traits or behaviors are expected from persons who reach
upper-level positions in public accounting firms. It is implied that exhibiting these traits or behaviors will contribute
to advancement. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether practicing accountants perceive that the influence
of sex-stereotyped personality traits on advancement differs based on the gender of the individual being considered
for advancement. The research questions examined in this paper are:
1. Does the influence of stereotypical feminine and masculine personality traits on advancement differ
based on the gender of the individual being considered for advancement?
2. Does the influence of stereotypical personality traits on advancement differ based on the gender of the
individual providing the rating?
METHODOLOGY
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 selected personality traits on a man's advancement
(masculine questionnaire).
The thirty-item short form 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 filler personality traits. An individual's sex type is determined based on their reponses to the series
of items in the inventory. The BEM has been used in numerous studies and has proven validity and reliability
(Schmitt and Millard, 1988; Ballard-Reisch and Elton, 1992). In developing the short form BSRI, Bem retained
the most desirable masculine and feminine personality characteristics from the long form BSRI (Bem, 1978). The
authors replaced three traits from the short form with the next three most highly correlated traits from the long form
BSRI because the replacement traits are considered more applicable to a business environment. The replacements
were as follows:
REPLACEMENT TRAITS: TRAITS REPLACED:
Does not use harsh language Tender
Loyal Affectionate
Cheerful Loves children.
Survey participants were asked to rate how they think these personality traits actually influence advancement. They
were instructed not to indicate what they think is fair or correct or how they think things should be. Participants
provided ratings using the following seven-point Likert scale:
6
1 very detrimental
2 moderately detrimental
3 slightly detrimental
4 neither detrimental nor beneficial
5 slightly beneficial
6 moderately beneficial
7 very beneficial.
Participants
Each audit and tax professional from nine local, regional, and national CPA firms located in a major
midwestern metropolitan area received one of the two forms of the questionnaire. Participants were informed that
they had been selected to complete one form or the other, but not both. Questionnaires were distributed to achieve
approximately equal distribution of the two forms of the questionnaire by gender and by position. For example, in
the total population of one hundred and eighty male managers, ninety received the feminine questionnaire and ninety
received the masculine questionnaire.
Eight hundred and twenty five questionnaires were returned for a 69 percent response rate; 814 were used
for analysis. As shown in Figure 1, response rates were approximately equal by gender and by position. The
decrease in the number of women relative to the number of men at the partner and manager levels reflects the
current practice environment.
"take in Figure 1"
Four hundred and six masculine questionnaires and four hundred and eight feminine questionnaires were
returned. The masculine and feminine questionnaires were approximately equal by position and by gender.
Analysis
Each of the ten feminine and ten masculine traits were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. The main
effects were the gender of the questionnaire and the gender of the respondent. Results were considered significant
at the p < .01 level. This methodology determined whether the influence of stereotypical personality traits on
advancement differs based on the gender of the individual being considered for advancement (questionnaire gender)
and/or the gender of individual providing the assessment (respondent gender).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Anova Results
As shown in Table I, five of the masculine traits and two of the feminine traits are expected to have a
significantly different influence on a woman's advancement compared to a man's advancement. In addition,
women who responded to the survey rated three of the masculine traits and eight of the feminine traits differently
than the men who responded to the survey, indicating that men and women expect these traits to have a different
7
influence on advancement. An interaction effect between questionnaire gender and respondent gender was found for
3 masculine traits.
"take in Table I"
As shown in Table I, women who responded to the survey (female mean) consistently rated the influence of
feminine traits lower, i.e., less beneficial, than did men who responded to the survey (male mean). In addition, the
feminine traits were also consistently rated more beneficial for a woman's advancement (feminine mean) than for a
man's advancement (masculine mean).
Women who responded rated two of the three masculine traits with significant differences higher, i.e.,
more beneficial, than did men who responded. However, all masculine traits with significant differences were
rated higher, i.e., more beneficial, for a man's advancement than for a woman's advancement.
Futher examination of significant differences suggest that five masculine traits with significant
differences (aggressive, assertive, dominant, forceful, and strong personality) share a common attribute. These
traits appear to be controlling in nature, and were labeled controlling behaviors. The other five masculine traits are
not controlling in nature. The remaining traits with significant differences do not appear to share any common
attributes with any other trait with significant differences.
These results indicate that differences in the influence of personality traits on a man's advancement
compared to a woman's advancement may be due to the underlying essence of the trait. For example, as Table I
shows, the influence on advancement of traits, such as, independence, leadership, defending beliefs, taking a stand,
or taking risks in a business setting is similar for both men and women. This is demonstrated by the absence of
significant differences for these traits by questionnaire gender. However, results show that women may have to be
more cautious or more measured than men in circumstances where traits, such as, dominance, forcefulness,
assertiveness, aggressiveness, or exhibiting a strong personality are appropriate. This is demonstrated by the
greater benefit expected for a man's advancement as compared to a woman's advancement.
Factor Analysis
The significant differences found for the controlling behaviors and the absence of differences for the other
masculine traits, along with the interactions found for three of the controlling behaviors, suggest that underlying
common factors not directly tested may be present. A factor consists of a group of personality traits that are highly
correlated among themselves, but have relatively small correlations with traits in a different group. Factor analysis
was performed to identify underlying common factors that may have a similar impact on advancement. Based on the
ANOVA results, the following data sets were used for factor analysis: (1) Male Respondents Masculine
Questionnaire, (2) Male Respondents Feminine Questionnaire, (3) Female Respondents Masculine
Questionnaire, and (4) Female Respondents Feminine Questionnaire. All thirty personality traits were
included in the analysis for proper protocol, but only factors that apply to the research questions are reported.
The factor pattern for women who responded to the survey is shown in Table II, and the pattern for men
who responded to the survey is shown in Table III. The factor patterns are highly similar for both male and female
respondents with regard to the nature and number of factors and the traits which comprise each factor. As shown
in Tables II and III, three underlying common factors (supportive behaviors, self-confident behaviors, and
8
controlling behaviors) were identified from the ratings about a man's advancement, and two factors (supportive
behaviors and masculine behaviors) were identified from ratings about a woman's advancement. These similar
patterns indicate that, even though men and women often rate the influence of personality traits differently, they are
observing the same phenomenon in the factor solutions. For this reason, the results of factor analysis of female and
male survey responses will be discussed together.
"take in Tables II and III"
As shown, the majority of the feminine traits loaded into one factor (supportive behaviors) for both the
feminine and masculine questionnaires. This indicates that the influence on advancement of supportive behaviors
within an organization is similar for both men and women.
As shown, the ratings of masculine traits provided about a man's advancement formed two distinct factors
(self-confident behaviors and controlling behaviors). However, the ratings of masculine traits provided about a
woman's advancement formed only one factor (masculine behaviors). The women's factor (masculine behaviors)
included both men's factors (controlling behaviors and self-confident behaviors).
These results indicate that, for a man, there is a clear distinction between behaviors that are controlling in
nature and those that are indicative of self-confidence. However, for a woman, the distinction between controlling
and self-confident behaviors does not appear to exist. This lack of distinction between controlling and self-confident
behaviors for women could create significant issues in a practice environment. For example, a woman acting in a
self-confident manner may be viewed as being inappropriately controlling in a given situation, which may
negatively influence her advancement. These results also suggest that it is unlikely that a man's behavior would be
misperceived in a similar situation.
As shown, mean ratings from the survey indicate that masculine traits are expected to have a beneficial
influence on a woman's advancement. However, the results of factor analysis indicate that a women displaying
masculine traits will be perceived differently than a man displaying exactly the same traits. This suggests that pre-
conceived stereotypical expectations of a woman's behavior impairs the ability to distinguish between controlling
behavior and self-confident behavior.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study indicate that there is a difference in how stereotypical
personality traits influence a woman's advancement compared to a man's advancement. I n
addition, men and women expect a difference on advancement from stereotypical personality
traits.
Results also indicate that differences in the influence of masculine traits may be due to
the underlying essence of the trait. Significant differences in the influence on a man's
advancement compared to the influence on a woman's advancement were found only for
masculine traits that are controlling in nature. I n all cases, men were expected to derive
greater benefit from these traits. There were no differences in the expected influence of
masculine traits that are indicative of self-confidence.
Even though masculine traits are generally expected to have a beneficial influence on a
9
woman's advancement, results indicate that, for a woman, there does not appear to be a clear
distinction between masculine traits that are controlling in nature and masculine traits that are
indicative of self-confidence. This lack of distinction does not appear to exist for men.
The results of this study have serious implications for women who seek to advance within
public accounting, and support the need for additional research to determine the impact of
differences related to personality traits on promotion and retention of women.
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ENDNOTES
[1] A personality trait "qualified as masculine if it was judged to be more desirable in American society for a man
than a woman, and it qualified as feminine if it was judged to be more desirable for a woman than a man. ... the
BSRI characterizes a person as masculine, feminine, or androgynous as a function of the difference between his or
her endorsement of masculine and feminine personality characteristics. A person is thus sex-typed, whether
masculine or feminine, to the extent that this difference score is high, and androgynous, to the extent that this
difference score is low." (BEM, 1974, p. 156).
[2] The BSRI was adapted and used with permission of the publisher.
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FIGURE 1
Partners Managers Seniors Staff
n % n % n % n %
Females 8 80 91 82 128 74 97 50
Males 113 74 145 81 132 73 100 50