The challenges facing women in the accountancy profession

The purpose of this research is to undertake an investigation into the challenges facing women in the accounting profession, through the provision of a new case study of developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. In addition, it aims to explore how these challenges might affect the decisions of female accountants to stay or to progress in the accountancy sector. This research is based on an extensive literature review and semi-structured interviews with a sample of accounting women from different sizes of firms in the commercial private sector. The findings show that the interviewees share with other women around the word a certain amount of difficulty in reaching the highest levels of hierarchy, especially with the long hours involved in working in their jobs. However, unlike some female accountants elsewhere in the world, they live in a society where they are viewed negatively, since they work in a mixed environment business where there is only a segregated education culture and there is no choice in taking on part-time work, both of which are also considered as key barriers. The results of this study present new interpretations of female accountants in Saudi Arabia.