The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants called on employers across the globe Wednesday to continue to provide flexible work hours and training as a way to accelerate diversity as the world celebrates International Women's Day. Accounting technology companies are also highlighting the roles of women today and throughout Women's History Month.
Remote and hybrid work, as well as education and training, have proven to be invaluable in extending access to opportunity, especially since the advent of the COVID pandemic, and the ACCA is urging employers to maintain the momentum.
In its recent
The research findings suggest hybrid work also leads to better outcomes overall in terms of mental health and retention, with hybrid workers less likely to leave their organizations. But employers are still weighing the potential impact of remote work on teamwork and collaboration.
Women were better able to manage the impact of remote work on collaboration and engagement, with a lower percentage of them reporting they found collaboration harder when working remotely (43% in comparison to 52% of male respondents), or that they felt more disengaged.
"Flexible approaches to working are bringing significant benefits to all, but can be particularly helpful to those where geographical, financial or additional commitments create restrictions that can impact on working location or hours," said ACCA chief executive Helen Brand in a statement. "The cultural changes brought about by the pandemic, along with evolving technology, mean remote work and study is now an option for a greater diversity of people. As employers consider the culture of their organizations, it's important this inclusivity benefit is kept front of mind."
Women in Accounting awards
Separately, practice management technology company Ignition announced last week that nominations are now open globally for its
"The Women in Accounting awards recognize exceptional women who are at the forefront of driving industry change and innovation, and opening doors for the next generation of female accountants and bookkeepers," said Ignition CEO Guy Pearson in a statement. "I had the privilege of being mentored by several inspirational women early in my accounting career who inspired me to go on to build and scale my own successful accounting firm. The Women in Accounting awards started as a way to pay it forward by recognizing the amazing contributions of women in the industry and their impact on the community and future leaders."
Ignition, which is based in Australia, launched the awards in 2018, and they have since attracted over 1,500 nominations from around the world, recognizing 250 women from countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.S. and the U.K.
Nominations are open until April 5, 2023. The top 50 winners will be announced on May 2, 2023.
For more information, visit
Xero marks Women's History Month
Another accounting software company, Xero, is also highlighting the role of women in the accounting and technology fields on International Women's Day. The New Zealand-based company is holding an International Women's Day "Women of Xero" sponsored social breakfast, for employees based in the Melbourne, Australia, office. Catering will be supplied by women-led small businesses, and employees will be able to participate in conversations around equity in the workplace
In keeping with the United Nations' International Women's Day 2023 "DigitALL" theme on innovation and technology for gender equality, there will also be a panel discussion exploring the theme through the lens of recruitment, from attracting diverse talent to creating an environment for them to thrive. The company is also featuring an International Women's Day fireside chat with its new CEO, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. In North America, the U.S. and Canada Women of Xero employee resource groups are hosting a session and Q&A with Singh Cassidy focused on equity in the workplace.
Vidya More, head of engineering at Xero, talked with Accounting Today about her experiences as a woman working at an accounting software company.
"For me, a girl who was born in Mumbai, India, to a very traditional middle-class family, it takes a village to come here and break the stereotypes in the technology world, or in the world of corporate America," she said. "I was fascinated by solving problems, so I wanted to become an engineer. It wasn't the right choice for women at that time, but my parents did support it."
She became the first engineer in her family and completed a degree in electronic engineering with a full scholarship. After that, she got her first technology job with Citibank, and later worked for consulting firm Capgemini in Ireland and London, where she was able to experience a more diverse culture. At that point, she decided to move to the U.S., and worked with clients such as PwC, EY and KPMG, as well as Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She became head of engineering at Xero in December 2021.
Over the course of her career, she has seen firsthand the obstacles that women confront in the workplace. "I did face some biases or some micro-aggressions, but it was a continuous learning experience," she said.
Being the only woman in some technology roles taught her several lessons despite some negative experiences. "Every time, I've tried to see the good from it and try to learn how I can create a more diverse culture for others," said More. "For example, I was one of the few females in my college. I would hear how engineering was not a preferred choice back then, and girls cannot do that. They might need help, they might not understand it."
When she moved into the corporate world, she recalled being the only woman in the tech group at times. "I was very excited about this role," said More. "For every woman, they try to work hard because they want to fit in, so I did actually try to work harder to make sure my product was successful and I could actually collaborate equally with guys. I got promoted as well. However, I did face biases at times because I was the only female manager around 12 or 15 male managers. And it wasn't received well by some of them. In the meetings, I would get interrupted or ignored or my ideas were not appreciated, or someone might share the same ideas and get recognized. I've talked to many women, and this is very common. At that time I thought it was just me. But when I started meeting other women in tech or other women leaders, I understood these are the conscious or unconscious biases around us."
She drew lessons from those experiences as well. "One thing I learned is that even though there are biases, there were some people in that room who stood by me, acknowledged me and guided me," said More. "I learned from this experience how important it is to build your support system, find your mentors and find your sponsors. I use that opportunity to pay it forward and to create that environment wherever I go. If someone is interrupting a woman, I would just say, 'OK, let her finish that,' or if someone actually shares the same idea as the other, I'll say, 'She already said that.' I consciously remember those things and make myself aware as well as others."
Changes are coming slowly in terms of eliminating gender disparities in the technology and accounting fields. More still sees relatively few females in the room during technology discussions due to gender biases, and leaders need to recognize the problem and work to overcome it.
"It's 2023, but I do believe it's still there because there are certain rules society has built for women," she said.
