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Diversity and inclusion business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides a hand-picked collection of business press articles on diversity and inclusion as a benefit of ICAEW membership.
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Displaying 1-50 of 75 results
Exclusive Black chartered accountants in post-apartheid South Africa: Global implications for the profession
  • 01 Mar 2024
  • Theresa A.Hammond, Sedzani Musundwa
Although South Africa’s Apartheid system legally ended with the advent of democracy in 1994, by 2021 only 15% of chartered accountants were Black. The authors examine this underrepresentation through interviews with 22 Black South Africans who earned their chartered accountancy certification in the second decade of the 21st century. While the officially mandated educational and employment barriers that previous generations faced have been dismantled, the authors found that aspiring Black accountants continue to face immense barriers to entering the profession.
Exclusive Diversity and the evaluation of talent in the accounting profession: The enigma of merit
  • 01 Mar 2024
  • Fiona Anderson-Gough, Carla Edgley, Keith Robson, Nina Sharma
While accounting firms are facing recruitment and retention problems, regulatory bodies are calling for efforts to improve diversity to be more effective, especially at senior levels. In this paper, the authors discuss 'merit' in processes of performance evaluation and career progression. Based on interviews in Big 4, mid-tier and small professional services firms in the UK, the authors explore how the working environment and culture in firms can potentially inhibit moves to improving diversity.
Exclusive Perceived organizational inclusion: Evidence from neurodivergent accountants in the US
  • 01 Mar 2024
  • Qi Duong, Loreal Jiles, Roopa Venkatesh
The authors examine the intersection of neurodiversity and accounting employment by exploring the work experiences of neurodivergent accountants in the US. They attempt to answer the question: 'How can neurodivergent accountants’ perceived organizational inclusion be improved?' Their study amplifies the voices of neurodivergent accountants, providing insights to key factors that shape neurodivergent accountants’ experiences of inclusion, while informing future organizational strategies through 37 recommended actionable practices.
Exclusive Women in accounting: Practical tips for leadership advancement
  • 01 Jan 2024
  • Christine A.Funkhouser, Gergana Lipidakova
Advice on how women in the accounting profession can promote their personal brand and leadership persona. Topics include prioritizing education, advocating for oneself and increasing your visibility within your organization.
Exclusive Embracing neurodiversity in accounting and finance
  • 01 Jan 2024
  • Anthony Pacilio
Neurodivergent employees can foster a culture of innovation, problem solving, and different perspectives. Anthony Pacilio gives advice on how employers in accounting and finance can attract and retain neurodivergent employees.
Exclusive Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc says sexism is 'amplified' in finance
  • 13 Dec 2023
  • Olivia Konotey-Ahulu
Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc has testified before British lawmakers about the prevalence of sexism in the financial services sector, stating that it is worse than in wider society. She shared testimonies she received, ranging from sexual harassment to women being excluded from key meetings. Blanc and Nishma Gosrani, a financial services partner at consultancy Bain & Company, discussed the Women in Finance Charter, a voluntary initiative aimed at promoting gender diversity in the industry.
Exclusive Why diverse teams reduce errors
  • 01 Dec 2023
  • Heidi Grant, David Rock
Recent studies, including mock juries and simulated markets, reveal that diverse teams improve discussion, reduce errors, and excel in decision-making. Diverse teams promote constant re-examination of facts, objectivity, and careful information processing, preventing biases and errors. Gender and cultural diversity in leadership also correlate with increased innovation and new product development.
Exclusive The power of one: A memorial to Dr.Larzette Golden Hale (1920-2015)
  • 01 Dec 2023
  • Brandi L.Holley, LaToya L.Flint
This paper memorializes a remarkable figure in accounting history and showcases the power of one individual to impact society. Although Dr. Larzette Golden Hale was the first Black female certified public accountant (CPA) to also earn a Ph.D. in accounting, her influence stretched far beyond these lofty accomplishments. Her life's work as an accounting educator is even more impressive considering the systemic obstacles to achievement faced by both Black people and women of the time.
Exclusive Microaggressions in the Accounting Academy: The Black experience
  • 01 Nov 2023
  • Phebian L.Davis, Denise Dickins, Julia L.Higgs, Joseph Reid
Black Americans are underrepresented members of the US accounting academy. By interviewing Black accounting faculty about their experiences during their doctoral education and institutional hiring and promotion processes, the authors have discovered stories of degradation, stereotyping, and exclusion (i.e., microaggressions) that participants report negatively impact their views of the academic accounting profession and increase their turnover intentions. Microaggressions committed against Black accounting faculty may contribute to underrepresentation that can be addressed through enlightenmen...
Exclusive Tailored flexibility
  • 01 Oct 2023
  • Danielle Lee
There is no one blueprint for cultivating a female-friendly workplace, as the top firms on Accounting Today's 2023 Best Firms for Women list emphasize, but as accounting practices attempt to sketch out a better culture for attracting, retaining and advancing women, lessons can be learned from the list's winners. The article features quotes from the top three ranked firms from the 2023 Best Firms for Women list, providing insights into how they are successfully fostering an inclusive workplace for women.
Exclusive The state of DEI: A Q&A with Crystal Cooke
  • 01 Oct 2023
  • Jeff Drew
Crystal Cooke, director of Diversity and Inclusion at AICPA & CIMA, assesses the state of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and attitudes in accounting. She discusses challenges faced in the US accounting industry, including setbacks in legislation and job losses in DEI roles, and gives advice on how accounting firms and finance departments can create a positive DEI culture.
Exclusive Leading the way by prioritizing DE&I
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Daniel Butcher
An interview with finance leaders Bonnie Chan and Deidra Merriwether on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) best practices. They discuss how companies can promote advancement in accounting by women, people of colour, and LBGTQIA populations, and also the best way to measure the success of DE&I initiatives.
Exclusive Supporting LGBTQIA staff in the Workplace
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • David T.Colgren
Voluntary self-identification programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) staff can advance a company's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, writes David T.Colgren.
Exclusive Disability as an advantage
  • 01 Jul 2023
  • Luisa Alemany, Freek Vermeulen
Employing people with disabilities can significantly improve an organization. The inclusion of staff with disabilities can lead to competitive advantage in at least four ways: by bringing unique skills to the company, by increasing collaboration and psychological safety, by adding to a firm’s value proposition for customers, and by boosting a firm’s reputation with talent and investors. For example, strong links have been found between autism and aptitude at tasks requiring attention to detail.
Exclusive Walter Davenport: Overcoming racism
  • 01 Apr 2023
  • Vanessa Infanzon
The story of certified public accountant (CPA) Walter Conaway Davenport, who overcame racism to make his way into some of North Carolina's most powerful boardrooms.
Exclusive How the UK tech industry is failing Black women
  • 07 Feb 2023
  • Doug Drinkwater
Passed over for promotion and struggling to fit into workplace cultures, Black women in technology see little progress in an industry fixated on diversity optics rather than inclusion. The article features quotes from more than a dozen Black women working in technology roles, who spoke to CIO.com on the back of a British Computer Society (BCS) and Coding Black Females (CBF) 2022 report - 'The Experiences of Black Women in the IT Industry'.
Exclusive Life experiences of a Black accounting student and faculty member
  • 01 Feb 2023
  • Mark C.Dawkins
Mark C.Dawkins discusses his life experiences as a Black student studying accounting at several predominantly white institutions and then as a Black accounting faculty member serving for 28 years. He includes some personal thoughts, memories and experiences, with the aim of providing some insights about the need for and benefits derived from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training, initiatives and programs for accounting students.
Exclusive BDO aims to increase diversity and inclusion
  • 21 Dec 2022
  • Michael Cohn
An interview with Bernadette Pieters, who was appointed as BDO USA's first diversity, equity and inclusion officer in 2022. She discusses the progress made at the firm towards improving its workplace diversity. 'Intentional mentoring' to help retain staff from diverse backgrounds is one of her focuses, as well as revisiting job postings to describe opportunities in a clear and concise way.
Exclusive How employers can be allies
  • 01 Dec 2022
Advice for companies on how to implement inclusive benefits and policies for LGBTQ employees. Tips include having employee resource groups for LGBTQ employees, so that a supportive community of other LGBTQ colleagues is available. These groups should be appropriately funded and treated as organizational priorities.
Exclusive Emphasizing DE&I in employee retention
  • 01 Dec 2022
  • Rinku Bhattacharya, Jain Shreyanse
While it's important for companies to recruit a diverse workforce, they must also ensure that they retain that talent to realize the full benefits. Companies should work on creating a sense of belonging and also continuously evaluate their diversity programs.
Exclusive The scarcity of Black accountants
  • 01 Jul 2022
  • Edwrd Mendlowitz
Everyone has a role to play in diversifying the profession, says Ed Mendlowitz. He calls attention to the recent accomplishments of two Black CPAs and makes suggestions for encouraging Black people into the profession. Accountants can help by speaking to high schools, providing role models in their firms, being an ambassador and hiring paid summer interns.
Exclusive Menopause discrimination cases in UK job courts are on the rise
  • 30 May 2022
  • Katharine Gemmell
UK employment court cases involving menopause are increasing, with more workers ready to challenge companies that are failing to recognize women's health needs. Women can bring menopause-related cases for age or sex discrimination under the UK's 2010 Equality Act.
Exclusive Accountants work on improving diversity
  • 07 May 2022
  • Michael Cohn
The accounting profession is undergoing a re-examination of its efforts to address the lack of diversity. A new global survey of finance and accounting professionals details over 70 best practices for fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, along with indicators and metrics to measure progress.
Exclusive Build the best accounting profession through diversity, equity and inclusion
  • 01 Apr 2022
  • Bernice Jenkins, Loreal Jiles, Stephen J.McNally
The authors discuss why the accounting profession should care about discussions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and invest time and resources to promote DE&I within accounting workplaces. They highlight insights from recent DE&I research, share why it matters to the profession, and end with practical actions you can take.
Exclusive Cognitive diversity - innovation's 'secret sauce'
  • 01 Mar 2022
  • Terri Simpkin
Terri Simpkin, Associate Professor and MBA director at the University of Tasmania, shares the importance of creating a culture that encourages teams to bring their authentic selves and divergent ideas to work. She argues that innovation is fundamentally reliant on diversity - and in particular, diversity of thinking. She provides tips on recruiting for diversity of thinking ('cognitive diversity') and keeping those people in the business.
Exclusive Towards a culture of belonging: Collective action toward diversity, equity, and inclusion is needed to enact change in the global accounting profession
  • 01 Mar 2022
  • Loreal Jiles, Diane Jules, Brad J.Monterio
Collective action toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is needed to advance change in the global accounting profession. The article looks at the state of DE&I in accounting and finance and actionable DE&I practices for firms to carry out.
Exclusive 'Limited pipeline' biggest challenge in advancing DE&I, survey finds
  • 18 Feb 2022
  • Sean McCabe
Bloomberg Tax's 2021 US Diversity & Inclusion Survey found that both accounting firms and corporate tax departments see a lack of exceptional talent to hire as the top roadblock in addressing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) within their organizations. Accounting firm respondents cited commitments and/or a lack of support for non-billable work as their other top roadblock on the road to diversity, while corporate tax respondents cited a lack of diversity in senior leadership teams.
Exclusive Smoke and mirrors: Race and the Black CPA
  • 01 Dec 2021
  • Anton Lewis
This article by associate accounting professor Dr Anton Lewis seeks to reconcile recent pledges of racial equity made by accounting firms and the profession generally to racial reality. Given the state of play where race and racism are concerned, can accounting really fulfil its promises and make itself more equitable in the long term?
Exclusive Pandemic hurt diversity efforts in tax and accounting
  • 02 Oct 2021
  • Michael Cohn
Ethnic minority and female accountants took on increased workloads at accounting firms during the Covid-19 pandemic, but didn't necessarily see their careers advance, according to a new US study, 'Pandemic Nation Report'. Thomson Reuters Tax and Accounting and PrimeGlobal polled more than 300 tax and accounting professionals from various countries and backgrounds for the report.
Exclusive The impact of mentoring: how to build on success
  • 01 Sep 2021
  • Rebecca Pitman
The authors take a look at how mentoring can benefit Black accounting professionals. They identify gaps in support for Black accountants in the US and provide three recommendations to help address the support gaps: assign formal mentors, mandate early sponsorship and support establishment of informal mentors.
Exclusive Promoting racial equity in your workplace
  • 01 Sep 2021
  • Robert Livingston
Article providing a practical road map for making profound and sustainable progress towards racial equity in the workplace. Robert Livingston explains some effective interventions, from understanding the current situation, to developing genuine concern among employees, to focusing on executing corrective strategies. For example, this may mean recruiting for potential promise, rather than current experience.
Exclusive 3 ways to accomplish diversity and inclusion in the hiring process
  • 16 Aug 2021
  • Mary Newgard
Insurance sector recruiter Mary Newgard covers three ways you can make an immediate impact to your company's Diversity & Inclusion strategy when recruiting new staff.
Exclusive Diversity, equity and inclusion in the accounting profession: A few thoughts
  • 01 Aug 2021
  • Joshua Rosenstock, Martin Shenkman
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) concepts can translate to small public accounting firms and even solo practices, say the authors. They consider some ways that small accounting firms can incorporate DEI considerations and make their services more inclusive for clients.
Exclusive LGBTQIA employees leaving accounting profession
  • 13 Jul 2021
  • Michael Cohn
Nearly one in five accountants identifying as LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and asexual) left the profession because of a lack of diversity, equitable treatment or inclusion, according to a recent US study. The study, published in February 2021 by the Institute of Management Accountants and the California Society of CPAs, also found that 43% to 55% of female, non-white, Hispanic, Latino and LGBTQIA respondents have left a company due to a perceived lack of equitable treatment. The researchers make suggestions on ways accounting firms can improve work...
Exclusive Meet the first Black CPA Ph.Ds
  • 07 Jul 2021
  • Anita Dennis
The stories of William Louis Campfield and Larzette Hale, who were among the first Black accountants to earn Ph.Ds in accounting in the US. The first Black Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Ph.Ds, and the professors they mentored or inspired, have played an important role in attracting generations of ambitious Black students to the accounting profession.
Exclusive Meet the first Black woman CPA
  • 08 Apr 2021
  • Anita Dennis
Mary T. Washington Wylie broke a major barrier in the accounting profession in 1943, becoming the first Black woman in the US to earn the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. The article tells her story, which illustrates the importance of early Black CPAs' success and the advances they made for future generations of accountants.
Exclusive Workplaces can't be inclusive without tackling bias
  • 06 Apr 2021
  • Chris Hughes
Bloomberg Opinion article reporting that a movement against unconscious bias training for employees is growing. Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission has argued that such training could backfire by suggesting stereotypes and biases are unchangeable. More research is needed to identify what measures really work to advance workplace fairness.
Exclusive Want progress on diversity? Link it to pay
  • 01 Apr 2021
  • Phil Wahba
More big businesses are linking executive bonuses to improvements in racial and gender diversity. Will pay motivate leaders to make steps forward in workplace equality? Phil Wahba looks at examples including goals used by Nike and Microsoft.
Exclusive How to build a more diverse, inclusive accounting firm
  • 01 Apr 2021
  • Jody Padar
Advice on improving diversity, equity and inclusion in an accounting firm, including creating a public diversity statement, running unconscious bias training and providing mentorship opportunities.
Exclusive A profession reflecting life: Bringing diversity, equity and inclusion to the accounting world
  • 01 Mar 2021
  • Kathy Johnson
Select findings from a recent joint research paper into diversifying US accounting talent are presented, including key diversity statistics for US accounting and finance professionals.
Exclusive Closing the diversity gap
  • 01 Feb 2021
  • Loreal Jiles, Diane Jules, Brad Monterio
A comprehensive study finds that greater equity and inclusion are needed to close a workplace diversity gap within the US accounting profession, particularly at leadership levels. The diversity progress made more broadly across the profession doesn't yet manifest at senior levels, where more than 90% of the profession's executive leadership are white. LGBTQIA people are also underrepresented in senior leadership roles.
Exclusive Class, the forgotten element of diversity
  • 01 Jan 2021
  • Paul Ingram
Article discusses social class disadvantage and how it should be treated as important as gender or race. It is also reported that GDP is higher per capita in countries where more managers come from lower social-class origins.
Exclusive Is lower pay for shared parental leave discrimination?
  • 01 Dec 2020
An analysis of the decisions taken by the Court of Appeal in the joined appeals of Ali v Capita and Hextall v The Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police. The Court had to consider whether it is unlawful sex discrimination for an employer to pay a man taking shared parental leave less than a woman taking maternity leave. A judgement was made that differentiation between maternity pay and shared parental pay was neither direct nor indirect sex discrimination.
Exclusive Data bias and diversity and inclusion
  • 01 Dec 2020
  • Richard Schaper, Kenya Mmatsushita
The article examines the possible effects of data bias in analytical models on the implementation by organizations and businesses of their diversity and inclusion programs. Also cited are the key role played by finance, accounting and corporate professionals in preventing the use of data bias in decision making, the data life cycle process, and ways to minimize data error or bias.
Exclusive Diversity beyond the business case
  • 01 Nov 2020
  • Robin J Ely, David A Thomas
Leaders may mean well when they tout the economic payoffs of hiring more women and people of color, but there is no research support for the notion that diversifying the workforce automatically improves a company’s performance. This article critiques the popular rhetoric about diversity and revisits an argument the authors made 25 years ago: To fully benefit from increased racial and gender diversity, organizations must adopt a learning orientation and be willing to change the corporate culture and power structure. Four actions are key for leaders: building trust and creating a workplace where...
Exclusive Workplace diversity and inclusion adapts in a time of protests
  • 01 Sep 2020
  • Karmin Bailey, Felix Bannerman, Bernice Jenkins
Finance professionals can boost diversity and inclusion and reduce bias by advocating for change within their organisations. A panel of black accounting and finance professionals discuss cultural sensitivity training, unconscious bias in the workplace and recruitment strategies to encourage diverse candidates.
Exclusive Remote work options can boost gender diversity
  • 03 Mar 2020
  • Sean McCabe
Article reports on The American Institute of CPAs' biennial CPA Firm Gender Survey that found that flexible work schedules and telecommuting options can help attract and retain more female professionals.
Exclusive The power of knowing
  • 01 Dec 2019
  • Rebecca Pitman
Rebecca Pitman explains the importance of understanding unconscious bias and becoming aware of its sources. Recognising our own biases and then working to minimize their impact can help create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Exclusive Social media as a means to diversity
  • 01 Oct 2019
  • Tanya Thirlwall
Social media has made it easier than ever for people of diverse backgrounds to connect. It's an opportunity to find commonalities, share experiences, and appreciate new viewpoints. Tanya Thirlwall looks at how accountants can use social media hashtags to connect with others interested in the same topic.
Exclusive Diversity in accounting: Challenges and opportunities
  • 01 Apr 2019
  • Jodi Chavez
What should accounting firms be doing to attract a more diverse talent pool? Here are a few best practices to consider as you go about planning your approach to diversity and inclusion.
Displaying 1-50 of 75 results
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