Women now make up 50% of the student intake of the seven accountancy bodies based in the UK and Ireland, according to figures from the Financial Reporting Council.
ACCA really helps to push the number up, as 60% of its sign-ups are female. The AIA also has a healthy 57% female intake.
Bottom of the list is ICAS, where the number of women signing training contracts is just 42%. Meanwhile, there has been a steady rise in the number of women attracted to the ICAEW qualification, but it still stands at only 46%. Although, that’s much better than the 42% in 2016.
Women now make up 37% of the qualified members of the seven bodies worldwide. ACCA again leads the way here with 48% of its members female. At the other end of the scale is the ICAEW, where women make up just 30% of its membership. Surprisingly CIPFA isn’t much better than the ICAEW, with 33% of its members being female.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY takes place on 8 March 2022, and you can support the #BreakTheBias campaign theme. Go to: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
