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.

 
Manayy:
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)

 
Manayy:
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 :/

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.

 

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.

 

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 (

There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.
 
Best Response

[quote=Kenny_Powers_CFA]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 (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.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 
Lak08er34:
Theres no sexism or racism it is just that people don't enjoy working with women named Latisha or Shaqoiua.

hahahhahaha

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

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There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.

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