Very few women reach senior roles in accountancy firms, despite parity at more junior levels. Sarah Beale, AAT CEO, discusses how to improve the situation from mentorship to balancing pay and flexible working
Women make up nearly half of the accounting workforce in the UK, but few ever make it to the top. In fact, just 12% of the UK’s top 100 accounting firms have female leaders according to a 2024-25 Women in Leadership survey by LinkedIn, a staggering drop of 20% on the previous year. This comes as the proportion of women being appointed to leadership roles in the UK overall has declined for the third consecutive year.
The accounting industry I know is full of diversity, with 45% of accounting jobs held by women, but it’s a totally different picture at the top. It’s our role as leaders to make sure gender doesn’t limit opportunity or our drive for equity in the sector. We need to build accessible career paths that unlock opportunities for women in accountancy right across their whole career journey.
Entering the industry is only the beginning
Female representation for entry level roles across all industries is 46% but this falls to 25% of the most senior leadership roles in the UK. This shows the depth of the systemic issues that persist; women are falling out of careers or stalling before they reach that senior level.
Mentorship is one tool that can help strengthen accessibility. Too often women are held back by doubt rather than capability; they do not see themselves represented. That creates further concerns that they are not ready to step up, that they cannot lead while managing caring duties, or that leadership is not a place for them.
Mentorship does not mean a monthly check-in or occasional email; it is a commitment to throw the ladder back down to support the next generation of leaders. It is tangible action over lip service and quotas that commit us as leaders to empowering women in our industry to aspire and succeed.
Accessibility should not stop when you’ve got your foot in the door; it is a lifelong commitment to support women across their career and, in turn, provide more role models for the next generation.
It is essential to understand the wider societal issues, such as considering how flexible working policies and inclusive recruitment processes can support women back into work and challenging outdated biases around caring and domestic duties. It also means improved awareness and targeted support during the menopause, for example, which leads 23% of women to consider resigning before retirement.
Pay gaps prove the need for action
Gender parity also means squashing the gender pay gap. The latest AAT 2025 salary survey shows while female AAT students earn more than their male counterparts, across all other levels our male members earn more than their female counterparts. This is narrowing at AAT and it is far slimmer than the sector at large.
A report from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in February found the sector gender pay gap was around 27%, compared to a UK average of 12.8%. The gender pay gap for AAT full and fellow members now stands at 6%, down from 9% in 2023, and significantly below the wider finance and insurance sector. That shows what is possible when access to careers is opened up.
The focus now must be on going further so that everyone, regardless of gender or background, can succeed and progress in their career.
Gender parity supports business success
Greater gender parity doesn’t just boost equity; it drives business success. A recent report from McKinsey highlights that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to be above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.
Accessibility is not a ‘nice to do’ or part of an organisation’s ESG activity, it is a business necessity. It is not about leaders imparting advice in hopes of others repeating their success; it is about helping others navigate the career ladder while valuing their perspectives.
As a result businesses get a greater wealth of viewpoints which helps overcome blind spots, boost innovation, and challenge groupthink. Building accessible paths for women to progress is not a free pass to seniority, it is a commitment to level the playing field and unlock opportunity that benefits business too.
This is ultimately more than a business issue, it is a far wider societal issue, to ensure women are not held back and instead have accessible routes to succeed, we all must challenge assumptions and stereotypes.
About the author
Sarah Beale is CEO of AAT, the Association of Accounting Technicians [pictured]
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