Toxicity over DEI plagues academic job forums in accounting

Young people with accounting doctoral degrees hoping to enter the academic field are encountering discrimination during job searches and discussions on online forums, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by Cristina Alberti, an assistant professor at Babson College near Boston, and Landi Morris, an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, examines the existence of toxic communication in two of the most frequently used online accounting academic job market forums during the 2021-2022 hiring season, and how such language influences job candidates' perceptions of diversity, equity and inclusion. The research paper will be appearing in the American Accounting Association journal Accounting Horizons.

Upon completing an accounting doctoral program, students usually pursue a job in academia. The process of getting a job is challenging, the researchers noted, often plagued by a lack of information about the preferences of hiring institutions. To alleviate the lack of information, job market candidates tend to leverage free online forums to get information and provide useful data to other candidates.

However, two of the most frequently used online accounting academic job market forums, Economics Job Market Rumors and a Google spreadsheet, are frequently rife with language indicative of racist, sexist and other hateful perspectives.

The researchers found that language in those two forums suggests that unqualified candidates receive preferential treatment in the hiring process based on their race or gender, often referring to these individuals as "diversity hires." The language also indicates that such candidates lack merit and their performance is inferior.

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Among the quotes the researchers found on the forums are, "Women have big advantages (probably African Americans too)" and "You will hire some DEI lemon like the rest of them." 

The forum language also suggested there are limited job opportunities for candidates, such as white males, who do not come from historically marginalized communities. "Are you a white male?" said one comment they found. "Forget it, you will not be hired."

Another commenter asked, "Are there any recruiting opportunities for [under-represented minority] 'URM'/women candidates? Are you kidding? Nowadays, you should ask if there are any remaining opportunities for non-URM and non-women candidates."

Based on their survey of recent accounting job market candidates, the researchers believe that seeing such language negatively influenced candidates' perceptions of DEI within the accounting academic community.

"It led me to believe that in our profession, there are individuals who hold views that seem very exclusive and not welcoming of others to join the profession," said one such candidate. "It showed me that we can do better as a profession, and we need to keep trying to do better as a profession

A separate research study the professors cited found that over 10% of posts within one of these forums, EJMR, come directly from academic institutions, including Stanford University, Columbia University and the University of Chicago. 

Collectively, the professors noted, research about online toxic communication within academia suggests a need for change within the community. Their study aims to serve as a call to action to leadership of the accounting academic community to identify and denounce toxic communication and protect faculty and doctoral graduates from historically marginalized communities.