Being a female minority at a BIG 4, will i get anywhere?
I'm looking at getting a masters in professional accounting at UT-Austin. You're pretty much guaranteed a Big 4 position. Even if i get a STARTING job at a big 4, can i move up at all at any firm if i decide to leave the BIG 4?? I'm a FEMALE and BLACK, i dont want to be making 50k-80k for most of my life. i want to break 100k by the time i'm 30. I dont see or hear of any minority females moving up to even manager and such in CPA firms in general. Females already find it a hard time to get promoted, but being a minority too must be close to impossible.
My parents advise me to not get into accounting, they think i will get frustrated after not going anywhere for a while due to the fact i'm a minority female and they are Nigerian so my first and last names are African, and they say its a major turn off to a lot of firms.
Is this true????
I have no experience in that line of work at all, or much qualifications for answering your question , though I am sure about one thing: If you do not make it into a problem, then most half-witted professional managers won't either. Quality work and determination will get noticed, not whether it comes from black/white/male/female.
Then why is it ONLY 15% of partners are female, and i can't even find a STATISTIC for how many of these females are minorities :/
keep in mind that part of it has to do with the fact that not many women choose the field. something more accurate would be the percent of females that make it to partner or something of that sort. don't get too bogged down by your profile(female/race/etc)
Because they either usually can't do the job or they can't keep up with the pace once they have kids.
Usually both. It's certainly not because they're discriminated against, because God knows they get every benefit of the doubt. They get promoted over better qualified white (or Indian) guys to meet quotas. They're the worst in terms of freaking out during crises, throwing people under the bus if it comes down to it, and not being analytical enough.
Not hating but that's some real talk.
Apparently, EY is the most diverse in their recruitment...
15% isn't terrific odds (about what I'd expect), but it shows you that its possible. And I bet none of that 15% got there by making excuses about themselves or doubting the quality of their work. Much better to have odds stacked against you because of your gender and race than because of your competency to do the work down the road. I've seen examples too in other fields. Basically you have to ask yourself "why not me?". As for pay, I'm not too sure what Big 4s pay at 30. It obviously depends on how long you've been there, but I don't think 100 is crazy, especially if you give them value and a sense of trust as an asset to the firm.
lol. They eat that shit up
there's sexism in the business world. might not be fair but it's a fact of life. if I were you I'd just worry about what I can control
If everyone worried about the glass ceiling due to their gender or ethnicity, that 15% statistic would be 0%. If you're good, you'll get there. If you're not, if you make decisions based on fear of that ceiling, or if you go into a corporate environment making a big deal of the fact that you're a female minority (which I've seen happen before and can be incredibly detrimental to one's career), you won't. It's that simple.
The Big 4 love women and minorities and offer lots of special support, groups, opportunities, etc for them specifically because they have their panties in a wad about that 15% statistic.
I knew a lot of young female partners because successful, capable women were fast-tracked. In fact, of the four youngest partners (35) in our group (~20 partners in our office) 3 were women, and another female partner had a major leadership role and had made partner at a younger age than anyone else in the practice group.
$100k by the time you're 30 will not be a problem in the Big 4.
Kenny, I couldn't agree more. To the OP, it sounds like you're already trying to build in an excuse for not being fast-tracked when the true reason is lackluster quality of work. I'd like to refer to a favorite quote of mine by Sean Connery: http://www.hark.com/clips/kkwjdnlrdw-losers-always-whine-about-their-be…
The financial times had an article about this since its a big deal in the UK. Basically, the finance firms interviewed said "there are not enough qualified women. We tried lowering our standards and that didn't work."
Basically, ladies, work hard and you'll be fine.
I looked at my bank's insurance coverage and the plan summary. They actually partially cover a sex change operation..Just sayin.
Not speaking from personal experience, but as long as you don't make a big deal about it, then it shouldn't be an issue. If you don't like your advancement opportunities with the Big 4 firm you start with you can always lateral to get a new start. No worries.
Theres no sexism or racism it is just that people don't enjoy working with women named Latisha or Shaqoiua.
hahahhahaha
like I tell everyone, if you dont like the direction your career is taking...QUIT
nothing we can say or do to help. you have to make it happen on your own
Thank you guys!!! I agree with you guys! I really need to no let my father (a doctor) put me down.
And its true that it is not hard to break 100k as an account??? if you start off at the Big 4
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