Episode 18 - Special Episode: IWD Panel Discussion

If you are connected to the online accounting community, you probably have noticed that there has been a plethora of noteworthy industry-related conversation emerging recently within the Twittersphere. From the future of bookkeeping to debunking whether certain apps are truly powered by AI, these conversations have sparked lively back and forths, and a variety of subsequent content pieces. As each hot button topic has unfolded, so have a number of carefully crafted responses of so from practitioners & “industry experts” alike. Even though their individual responses & opinions have varied, the ones that have gotten the most airtime have all been connected by a common thread: they were all produced by men. I’m not knocking the content that these guys wrote, but the cacophony reached a point where some of us started to wonder, where are the women in all of this? Are we somehow getting lost in the noise or do we need have to still shout to be heard in the first place?

Women’s voices are still dramatically underrepresented in the world of accounting, despite the fact that women make up the majority of the profession. 61.3% of the profession at large is female, and yet we still see a predominate number of men highlighted online & at conferences as “authorities” on topics related to the profession. It’s clear that there is a disconnect that goes deeper than the surface because more women than ever before are graduating accounting expertise, yet the top positions of the profession are still overwhelmingly male-dominated and the wide gender pay gap within the profession isn’t showing any signs of closing. As one might guess, the statistics for representation & pay for women of color within the profession are even more abysmal. These inequalities are hardly unique to the accounting profession, but the issues are pressing all the same, so it’s time for us to set aside some time to start addressing them head-on.

With International Women’s Day on the horizon, and with it the release of Practice Ignition’s list of Top 50 Women in Accounting, it seemed like the perfect time to spark a conversation with women in accounting and provide a place for them to share their stories and opinions around the status of women in the profession. Rather than sitting around waiting for someone else to pass the mic, I collaborated with Practice Ignition to host a virtual panel discussion featuring some of the incredible & inspiring women in the accounting space. The goal of the moment was simple: to shed some light on the experiences, opinions, and triumphs of women in accounting.

The panel discussion happened live Practice Ignition’s Facebook page the morning of March 8th, and featured some of their Top 50 Women In Accounting finalists, as well as a diverse array of other female voices from across the profession. For those who couldn’t make it live, I captured the conversation in this special episode of the Finding Fearless Podcast. The conversation covered a variety of questions about their entrepreneurial ambitions and the current position of women in the accounting profession, along with talking about the ways that we can elevate more women to within the profession to share their voices & be heard. Although there were only so many questions we could tackle in a since hour, it is my sincere hope that this first discussion sparks many more conversations & opportunities to highlight women from all corners of the accounting community.