Women accountants in Singapore

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which the work performance of accountants in Singapore are affected by work commitments, especially that of the women accountants. The work-related factors: stress, job satisfaction and discrimination are generally discussed. According to the results of this study, the majority of married women accountants are found to experience higher trade-off between careers and family commitments. Due to their greater family commitments, married women have to perform better than men in order to succeed in their organisations. As a result, married women are generally more stressful than their male counterparts and this further leads to a lower level of job satisfaction. Moreover, most of the married women perceive that there is sex discrimination in their organisations. However, their organisations do not seem to discriminate between single and married women. Most organisations do ·not provide a conducive working environment for working mothers. The government can provide incentives in encouraging working women to set up families while pursuing their career goals. To reserve a pool of qualified women accountants in the profession, the organisations can provide incentives such as flexible working hours, career break schemes and parental leaves. Such incentives which are highly valued by individuals can help to retain and recruit capable women accountants in the profession. However, as this study is conducted in the Singapore context, the results may not be representative to the similar problems faced by other parts of the world.