The accounting industry is evolving, and the face of this traditionally male-dominated field is changing, but within that change lies a paradox. According to the most recent information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 60% of accountants and auditors are women, making up the majority of the industry’s workforce. However, despite holding the lion’s share of overall positions in the space, women only make up 15% of partners of non-Big Four firms across the nation. This number is only slightly higher than 2010 numbers, when just 10% of non-Big Four firm partners were women.
This glaring gap between workforce composition and leadership representation goes beyond diversity metrics. This divide represents trapped strategic capacity at a critical moment of shifting structural pressures: regulatory complexity, technological disruption, changing client expectations, and intensifying competition.
But the women who have reached leadership positions in the space are emerging as key drivers of transformation. Through M&A leadership, operational modernization, and culture-led strategy, women leaders are building a durable competitive advantage that challenges the field’s established playbook.
Lessons in leadership
One of modern accounting’s biggest challenges is lacking a pipeline of new talent entering the profession. Many young people are leaning toward careers they see as more dynamic and flexible, such as those in the tech sector. This talent shortage is even worse at leadership levels, as older partners begin to retire without succession plans in place because the talent bench isn’t deep enough.
But the goal isn’t just to attract women into the profession. We want to provide women with leadership opportunities that go beyond just technical exposure. The goal is to help women become leaders. Men and their abilities are, of course, equally valuable, but women face unique barriers and challenges that we need to intentionally address and overcome to make further strides toward gender parity in the industry’s leadership.
The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles has consequences that extend far beyond individual career trajectories. When leadership teams lack gender diversity, organizations suffer from a narrowing of strategic perspectives that become increasingly costly in fast-moving markets.
Homogeneous leadership groups (i.e., all- or mostly-male leadership groups) tend to reinforce existing assumptions rather than challenge them. When everyone at the leadership table shares similar backgrounds and career paths, ideas will most likely be alike, too. Leadership groups like these may all see problems through the same lens, put forward similar solutions, and even miss emerging opportunities that would be apparent to someone with different experiences. This pattern then becomes self-reinforcing. Strategic discussions validate prevailing viewpoints rather than stress-testing them against alternative perspectives, diminishing adaptability at a time that demands flexibility.
In accounting, a lack of diverse viewpoints can manifest in a variety of ways. For example, firms may continue to invest in services that worked historically while missing client demand for new capabilities. They may keep structuring work arrangements in a way that used to work, but now miss out on talent with different priorities. They may pursue growth strategies that don’t leave room for the transformation strategies disruption requires. Advancing women into leadership positions doesn’t just address fairness, it strengthens organizational capabilities in measurable ways.
Making room at the table
Research consistently shows that diverse teams make better decisions because they consider a wider range of options, challenge assumptions more effectively, and catch errors that more homogenous groups might miss. In professional services, where judgment and strategic thinking drive performance, these factors are critical. Women leaders often bring distinct perspectives on client needs because they have navigated different life experiences and professional challenges than their male counterparts, which ultimately expands the organization’s strategic toolkit.
Firms that develop women into leadership positions may benefit from improved retention, which helps maintain ongoing institutional knowledge-sharing and client relationships. These firms build reputations as forward-thinking organizations, strengthening both recruitment and business development. Most significantly, these businesses develop organizational cultures where diverse viewpoints are championed in decision-making. The cultural capacity for weaving in multiple perspectives will only become more valuable as markets continue to change and grow more complex.
Creating pathways for women into leadership benefits both the business and the individual. The transformation facing the accounting industry requires new ways of thinking, and the most successful firms will be the ones that can adapt quickly, attract and retain top talent, and make confident strategic decisions in uncertain environments. These capabilities all improve when leadership has a diverse array of perspectives and experiences. Investing in women’s advancement builds the organizational capacity firms need to succeed long term. It’s not about gender diversity for the sake of diversity. It’s about gender diversity for the sake of your business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hiral Rao is senior vice president of global operations at Springline Advisory. She brings more than 23 years of client serving and global operations experience across audit and advisory services from EY. At Springline, she’s responsible for establishing and managing the firm’s global operations, including client-facing operations and shared services functions, leading the transition and pathway to their global footprint and strategic capabilities.
Photo illustration credit: Deagreez/iStock
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