Don’t fall for the myth that women only entered accountancy in the 20th century, says Dr Victoria Bateman (pictured).
She says women have been looking after the books and managing the financial fortunes of companies for centuries.
Bateman believes we must look beyond the fact that it was not until 1999 that the ICAEW elected its first woman President, in the form of Dame Sheila Masters. She explains that female accountants armed with counting sticks and abacuses would have been a common sight in the Roman world.
Women like Mary T. Washington Wyle, Elizabeth Arden, and MacKenzie Scott were the mainstays of the businesses they helped to develop.
You can read her fascinating article and our review of her new book Economica: A Global History of Wealth and Power in the latest PQ magazine, out now: https://issuu.com/pqpublishing/docs/pq_magazine_january_2026
