Gender, ethnicity and professional membership : the case of the UK accounting profession.

Abstract

The thesis aims to explore the experiences of minority ethnic women\naccountants in the UK through the use of the oral history method. It seeks to\ngive visibility to the experience(s) of professional women accountants from\nminority ethnic communities who have to date remained largely invisible in\naccountancy literature.\nIt is argued that part of the reason for this invisibility lies in the methods\nemployed in accounting research and the operation of statistics issued by the\naccounting profession. The author argues that one way round this can be\nachieved through the use of oral history.\nAlthough recent studies in the field of accounting have focused upon issues\nrelating to gender, much of the literature remains silent with respect to\nqualitative material which illuminates women's lived experiences of\naccountancy. Furthermore, the experience(s) of women accountants from\nminority ethnic communities is invisible in the accountancy literature. This is\nbecause much of the literature ignores cultural diversity and treats women as a\nhomogenous group, that is white and middle-class. This invisibility is reinforced\nfurther as women from minority ethnic communities are absent from the official\ngender statistics which are (re)produced by the accounting profession.\nFive oral histories are presented, explored and analyzed, together with the\nauthor's own life history. It is suggested that an exploration of oral narratives\ncannot take place without acknowledgment and making visible of the\nresearcher's own life history and presence in the construction and exploration of\noral narratives.\nThe empirical material in the form of oral narratives reveals the presence of\nvarious invisible and visible forms of gender and ethnicity which appear to\noperate through a variety of forms in the structured work and workplace of\naccounting. Some possibilities for making issues of gender and ethnicity visible\nin accountancy are further explored.