[lid] – Paper in press in “Critical Perspectives on Accounting”, online available in open access at: https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S1045-2354(23)00081-3

There are fewer women in the upper echelons of accounting academia in Italy than in other European countries, and fewer female full professors than in other disciplines at Italian universities. The purpose of this research is to investigate the barriers experienced by Italian women in accounting academia and contributes with suggestions to alleviate these. The paper adopts a phenomenographic approach to identify the ways in which a group of 24 Italian women, at different hierarchical levels, experienced barriers to their academic careers. The study identifies different categories of barriers that combine to prevent female perspectives and progression within accounting academia. Underpinning these barriers is a patriarchal culture that has a significant influence on women’s careers in academia.

The patriarchal structure in both the workplace and society, engenders difficulties in maintaining work-life balance, and shapes male and female roles in the academic workplace. The paper contributes to the literature on gender in the academic accounting discipline, exploring women’s experiences of accounting academia, linking findings of a persistence of patriarchy, and arguing for a more feminist academic organisation.

Removing the barriers to gender inequality requires a sustained fight against patriarchal culture. It is not enough to challenge organisational practices through positive action, or develop new and better welfare initiatives if the overarching culture relegates women to the domestic sphere. What is missing is a cultural context free from stereotypes, allowing men and women to realise their ambitions without any kind of constraint. The patriarchy that persists in university cultures and the engendered structures are not just given, but are actively made, supported or (at least) not resisted by the actors. In theory these can be changed via recognition of biases,

by resistance and other processes and practice. This research has highlighted how the social reproduction and construction of gendered barriers have been organised/institutionalised into social practice within universities. We suggest that those with power within the institutions can act in such a way as to (incrementally) institute change. We call for further research to investigate the situation in other countries to ascertain whether different legal and cultural contexts influence women’s career progression, as well as research to determine the best means of achieving change. There is academic space for investigating strategies and clear routes to overcoming barriers. It could also be useful to seek the perspective of male colleagues. Research could investigate how a patriarchal work culture impacts the choices of women accounting academics in relation to their private lives.

After 200 years surely, times are changing in education, women are on the rise and even young males experience their responsibilities differently. This paper draws on the experience of women in academia in accounting to suggest some actions that could inform gendered assumptions of the ‘ideal academic’ and future policies by governments, scientific association in accounting, and universities.

Firstly, since gender stereotypes assign women to caring activities, the most urgent actions are those that contribute in combatting stereotypes, but also value caring activities. These actions have a long-term impact, targeting them will eliminate other discriminations.

Actions to support cultural change in society, to make it clear that the problem of reconciliation is not resolved by recognising the right of a dad to stay at home for paternity leave. It requires a cultural change to share the idea that caring works are shared by both women and men. Actions that embrace gender diversity as an asset and contributing to excellence in science should be undertaken.

Actions supporting female empowerment, so women understand that they can advance in their career as men do, for instance promoting the history of women who have been successful in academia. Orientation actions should be undertaken, to encourage the presence of women in the academic professions where they are currently underrepresented, and to change the culture of existing stereotypes, this change is a must for allowing younger generations to access an academic career.

Secondly, to promote more gender equality in the current context, short-term actions to support female leadership should be

adopted. With regards to universities, policies supporting women in reaching top positions in the university should be undertaken. For instance, facilitating the removal of current cultural and sociological mechanisms that have led to a lack of women in top positions, pink quotas could push women to try their hand at higher levels. Specific actions to promote the visibility and curricula of female candidates could be undertaken.

Thirdly, universities should undertake organisational actions to improve the context of the workplace. Actions allowing woman to have more time to devote to the activity of study and conferences, for instance providing staff support/relief for teaching activities and institutional duties. Guidelines to regulate “working times” could be useful, in that they support a better reconciliation of working times with care responsibilities (for instance, by avoiding meetings during evening hours, etc.). Universities should establish and support female mentoring, for example peer to peer mentoring, including and aimed at young female scholars, to support career paths.

Universities should invest in changing the organisational culture and people’s behaviour (not only the rules), to value caring behaviours, to facilitate returns to work after periods of leave of various kinds, preventing anxiety around having been left behind.

Overall, a broader awareness on gender issues in university would be useful, therefore the implementation of a a Gender Equality Plan and then of a Gender report for each university is suggested to shed light on the phenomenon of horizontal and vertical segregation, as well as to monitor the evolution of this phenomenon over time.

Fourthly, actions to support work-life integration should be adopted both by universities and the State. On the one hand each university should offer services tailored to women’s needs, to support family care, including through kindergartens, spaces to bring children to university, summer camps for children, close to the workplace and free for scholars in the early stages of their career. In  addition, universities should organise support services that allow educators to have more time to devote to work (e.g. to take a parcel to the post office, pay a bill, collect clothes from the laundry, etc.). To provide such services, universities could sign agreements and facilitations with other institutions to take advantage of social services and state welfare systems could establish broader policies specifically addressed to universities.

Fifthly, system actions aimed at career mechanisms and evaluation dimensions in competitions, should be undertaken by both scientific associations in accounting and the overall university context. With regards to the former, since scientific associations are selfdisciplined – because they are associations – they should pay more respect for gender equality within their top positions. A recognition of the career paths of women to understand if there are obstacles to progression (surveys at governmental level, but above all disciplinary sector associations) should be undertaken. Orientation actions for young people on career mechanisms and support for those wishing to pursue a university career should be undertaken.

Furthermore, in national scientific evaluations as well as in the calls/tenders of each university, in addition to research quality, the quality of teaching results as well in institutional and organisational tasks performed (the latter usually falling on women) should also be evaluated. In all the call/tenders parental leave can be considered. In addition, both scientific associations and the government should promote a wide debate on the current gender disparity in academia, collecting and showing data on gender participation, both at the level of academies and of individual universities.

As part of this research, all interviewees were asked to represent with a visual/image their experience of their career in academia and their motivation. A variety of visuals were proposed, however, the most frequent one was the “mountain”, indicating that a women’s career in accounting academia is a long and difficult climb, because there are many obstacles and the road seems unnavigable.

“I am in the middle of it. However, I can glimpse that at the top there is a beautiful panorama” said one. The struggle against the patriarchy continues, but the subsequent view will be worth it. We believe that change is worth the investment not only to promote a real gender equality in accounting academia but also to foster excellence in our science.

Giovanna Galizzi, Karen McBride, Benedetta Siboni