The rise and struggle: Experience of Chinese women in accounting profession

The purpose of this study is to explore how the rapid change in Chinese society has impacted the experiences of Chinese women accountants. The study applies the theoretical lens on constructed, perceived and lived status to interpret 16 in-depth interviews with female accountants in mainland China, and in particular their experiences and attitudes regarding the gender roles in a relatively conservative society. Insights from the interviews reveal that Chinese women accountants have been able to advance in their career more quickly in the past a couple of decades thanks to the rising status of accounting profession in general. Nonetheless, the prevailing tradition and gender expectation still hinder women’s career progress. The study suggests that the issue of traditional gender expectation is still strong in China, contributing to Chinese women accountants’ marginalization in the fast-growing accounting profession in China.