Women in finance - inspiring change for International Women’s Day

March 06, 2014 | 10:52

(0) user say

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is reinforcing its credentials on diversity issues in support of this year’s International Women’s Day.

Women’s Day is organised on March 8 and celebrates the changing attitudes towards women’s equality and emancipation.

Helen Brand OBE, ACCA’s chief executive said: “We wholeheartedly support International Women’s Day as it aligns with our core values, particularly those of diversity and opportunity.”

She also said it was also keeping with the history of ACCA – in 1909 and it was the first accountancy body to give women access to its membership and was the first accountancy body to elect a female president.

As of 2014, ACCA’s female membership stands at 45 per cent while its female students account for 51 per cent.

“Our extensive work into diversity issues shows that a real commitment to diversity widens the talent pool. Having a co-ed work pool allows fresh thinking on matters that affect the finance world. Innovation is key to changing things for the better. The profession has a massive part to play in inspiring change,” she added.

ACCA has produced a number of reports on the broad issue of diversity and specifically about female representation on boards. They have explored how a financial qualification or background influences the career paths of women in a dynamic business landscape.

By By Nguyen Trang

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional