Stories within stories : the career stories of women chartered accountants : a multi-layered analysis of career choice using Beauvoir's feminist existentialism as the lens

Abstract

Although the subject of women in accounting has received considerable attention in the research literature in the past three decades the reported reasons for women accountants leaving public accounting firms have not changed significantly from those first reported by Barcelona, Lelievre & Lelievre (1975). Explanations concerned with the decision to pursue a Chartered Accountant designation and partnership, as well as information concerned with where these women go after leaving a public accounting firm are conspicuously missing from the literature.

This study was designed to close the identified gaps through the elicitation, analysis and critique of the stories of career told by women CAs. The role of the participants' personal agency and the roles played by other individuals, organizations, institutions and society were of particular interest. 13 women Chartered Accountants were interviewed to elicit the stories of their respective careers. These stories were analyzed and critiqued using Beauvoir's (1976, 1989) feminist existentialist philosophy as the theoretical framework and narrative inquiry (Chase, 2005) as the method.

This study contributes to our understanding of the careers of women CAs in its identification and analysis of three main, overarching themes that emerged from the stories--indecision surrounding what career or position to pursue; the questioning of the value of work and work of value from both personal and client perspectives; and personal concerns and tensions related to their perceived and actual abilities to perform a job. Two secondary themes emerged related to the tensions and conflicts arising from personal, organizational and institutional expectations of professionals and of mothers. The study also represents a major methodological contribution in its use of Beauvoir's feminist existentialist philosophy as the theoretical framework in an empirical study leading to insights as to the woman CA's personal role and the role of others in her career decisions.