Abstract
Gender discrimination in the employment market is a sensitive issue that has been the subject of numerous studies and, in particular, of profuse political action on the part of governments and international institutions to eradicate it. Although gender discrimination issues are manifested in multiple dimensions, this study focuses on gender wage discrimination in the socio-professional group of certified accountants in Portugal. The ongoing process of feminization in the profession, starting in the last decade, justifies a first study on the issue of gender wage discrimination in a profession traditionally exercised by men and with little research in this domain. The application of a survey, with 751 validated observations, is the base for the empirical component of this study. In addition to wage issues, academic qualifications, time in the profession, age, and working conditions were considered as variables for analysis. The conclusions obtained point to a lesser wage for women concerning men in all the variables considered.
TopIntroduction
The reflection on gender issues is not new but is still relevant. Despite the existence of some positive changes, inequalities persist, being expressed in wage differences among the same professionals according to gender.
As one of the most ancient forms of inequalities related to discrimination, being a woman involves a set of characteristics forming gender stereotypes and prejudices socially embedded, that have been reproduced across generations.
Women's discrimination as a social problem with socio-economic consequences must be seen as a political agenda issue. Changing gender attitudes by preventing any form of discrimination is to inhibit social contexts where inequalities replication and justification are built.
Despite specific and justified differences in wages according to different abilities, and appraised performance, there are major and unjustified wage differences according to gender. Additionally, gender segregation is also noticed in vertical promotion, despite merit.
The Accounting Profession (AP) has been dominated by men until 2010 in Portugal. Since then, it has been noticed an increase in women's enrolment in the Professional Order, surpassing men. However, wage differences and social prestige remain different between men and women.
In this context, this study addressed the following research question: “To what extent is there evidence of gender discrimination (GD) under the bias of remuneration among Certified Accountants (CAs) in Portugal?”. To answer this question, a survey was conducted with Portuguese CAs, analyzing the wage differences based on gender, but also concerning the professionals' academic degrees, age, time of profession, and job situation.
Findings showed that no matter the perspective, men earn more than women. And, even worse, this discrepancy exists in all age groups, meaning, there is no evidence that the new generations will change the situation. So, as gender inequalities are currently still a reality in the AP in Portugal, it is necessary and urgent that employers take measures to ensure equal pay, bearing in mind that wages must vary according to competencies and skills, not according to gender.
Moreover, the study also presents some recommendations, based on previous literature, that allows employers to adopt preventive and corrective measures regarding the gender wage gap.
In summary, this empirical study contributes to the research on the wage gap based on gender, confirming its existence in a profession marked by a feminization process. The study results also contribute to highlighting some practical implications to the business area, such as the presentation of some employers' measures to counter the wage gap based on gender.
After this introduction, the chapter will follow with a literature review on the following issues: a historical background on gender inequality (GI), the socioeconomic consequences of GI and GD, the stigma of being a woman through wage discrimination, the gender wage gap in the AP and tools for employers to narrow or eliminate gender pay gaps. The study then follows the presentation of the research question, hypotheses, and methodology. At last, the study presents the findings and its conclusions.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Gender Inequality: Unequal treatment of people based on gender, by considering psycho-physiological factors and social roles that normally place women at a disadvantage compared to men.
Accounting Profession: A regulated profession in which professionals must be mandatorily registered in the Certified Accountants Association, being exclusively assigned the use of this professional title, as well as the exercise of the respective profession. Its main functions are to plan, organize and coordinate the accounting of entities subject to income taxes that have or must have regularly organized accounting, respecting the legal rules and accounting principles in force, to assume responsibility for the technical regularity, in the accounting and tax areas, of the referred entities, and to sign, together with the legal representative of the entities referred to, the respective tax returns.
Feminization of Accounting Profession: A phenomenon of changing a profession that was historically exercised by males to be currently performed mostly by females and with a tendency to increase the discrepancy between the genders, with the female gender currently much higher in number than the male gender.
Gender Discrimination: Any act of disadvantaging a person solely based on their gender, in the personal or professional sphere, without considering other aspects.
Gender Pay Gap: An indicator that measures salary discrimination, in terms of gender, that does not result from differences in the function performed, performance, skills possessed, professional experience, or seniority, that is, from objective factors, but from practices based on prejudice or discriminatory management practices based on the employee's gender.