Is There No Sin Down South of the Equator? Brazilian Auditors’ Perception of the Gendered and Racialized Dynamics in Audit Firms

Figures & data

Table 1. Participation of women in the hierarchical levels of PwC Brasil.

Hierarchical level	2015	2020
Partner	10%	17%
Director	21%	33%
Senior Manager	36%	45%
Manager	48%	43%
Senior Associate	49%	54%
Associate	54%	55%

Source: PwC Brasil.

Table 2. Respondents demographics.

Personal characteristic		Fi	Fi (%)	Cumulative Frequency
Age	20 years old and below	1	0.3%	0.3%
	21–30 years old	244	74.2%	74.5%
	31–40 years old	60	18.2%	92.7%
	41–50 years old	18	5.5%	98.2%
	51–60 years old	4	1.2%	99.4%
	Over 60 years old	2	0.6%	100.0%
Race	Asian	14	4.3%	4.3%
	White	237	72.0%	76.3%
	Indigenous	1	0.3%	76.6%
	Black	20	6.1%	82.7%
	Mixed-race of black and white descent	57	17.3%	100.0%
Sex	Male	175	53.2%	53.2%
	Female	154	46.8%	100.0%
Region	North and Midwest	12	3.6%	3.6%
	Northeast	22	6.7%	10.3%
	Southeast	254	77.2%	87.5%
	South	41	12.5%	100.0%

Source: Research data.

Note: The answers refer to the respondent's self-designation in a binary system, which can limit other expressions and identities.

Table 3. Academic training of respondents.

Academic Degree		Fi	Fi (%)	Cumulative Frequency
Undergraduate	Accounting	279	84.8%	84.8%
	Administration	33	10.0%	94.8%
	Economy	12	3.6%	98.5%
	Engineering (any)	0	0	98.5%
	IT	0	0	98.5%
	Others	5	1.5%	100.0%
MBA	Accounting and Auditing	129	39.2%	39.2%
	Controllership and Finances	52	15.8%	55.0%
	General administration and other specific areas	23	7.0%	62.0%
	Others	11	3.3%	65.3%
	None	114	34.7%	100.0%
Master's	None	326	99.09%	99.09%
	Accounting	1	0.30%	99.39%
	Other areas	2	0.61%	100.00%

Source: Research data.

Table 4. Professional experience and which kind of company they work for.

		Fi	Fi (%)
Professional experience	Up to a year	20	6.1%
	Over a year up to 3 years	88	26.7%
	Over 3 years up to 5 years	88	26.7%
	Over 5 years up to 10 years	85	25.8%
	Over 10 years up to 15 years	24	7.3%
	Over 15 years up to 20 years	9	2.7%
	Over 20 years	15	4.6%
Respondent firm	Big Four (PWC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte)	196	59.57%
	Large and medium-sized companies	104	31.61%
	Other companies	29	8.81%

Source: Research data.

Graph 1. Gendered hierarchical positionings. Source: Research data.

Table 5. Intersectional hierarchical position.

Hierarchical Position	White				Asian				Black
	Male		Female		Male		Female		Male		Female
	Fi (%)	n	Fi (%)	n	Fi (%)	n	Fi (%)	n	Fi (%)	n	Fi (%)	n
Partner	16%	20	0%	0	0%	0	20%	2	2%	1	0%	0
1 level below	13%	16	10%	11	0%	0	10%	1	8%	4	0%	0
2 levels below	16%	20	16%	18	25%	1	20%	2	27%	13	0%	0
3 levels below	23%	28	23%	26	50%	2	10%	1	20%	10	10%	3
4 levels below	14%	17	17%	19	25%	1	0%	0	16%	8	41%	12
5 levels below	17%	21	36%	41	0%	0	40%	4	27%	13	48%	41
Total	100%	122	100%	115	100%	4	100%	10	100%	49	100%	56

Source: Research data.

Table 6. Frequency distribution of the questions.

Affirmation	Frequency
	5	4	3	2	1
I feel valued in the position I work in	16.11%	45.29%	12.16%	19.76%	6.69%
I intend to follow the career plan until I become partner/senior	19.45%	27.36%	18.54%	15.20%	19.45%
I think I will be able to follow my career plan within my planning	21.58%	42.25%	22.49%	7.60%	6.08%
I feel pressured by goals, deadlines, etc.	44.07%	38.30%	10.94%	5.47%	1.22%
I feel I constantly need to prove my value	56.23%	28.88%	9.42%	4.56%	0.91%
I feel that my colleagues of the opposite sex constantly need to prove their value and competency	23.10%	15.81%	25.23%	14.89%	20.97%
I am able to conciliate my professional and personal lives	6.08%	34.95%	14.89%	32.22%	11.85%
I believe that my colleagues of the opposite sex are able to conciliate their professional and personal lives	4.26%	23.71%	27.96%	28.27%	15.81%
Currently, I would change careers in order to be able to dedicate myself to maternity/paternity	8.51%	15.50%	23.40%	17.63%	34.95%
In the future, I would change careers in order to dedicate myself to maternity/paternity	30.40%	28.27%	14.29%	11.25%	15.81%

Source: Research data.

Table 7. Career planning and advancement.

Affirmation	Chi-square
	Sex	Hierarchy	Race
I feel valued in the position I work in	0.147	0.0000***	0,395
I intend to follow the career plan until I become partner/senior	0.0000***	0.0000***	0,427
I think I will be able to follow my career plan within my planning	0.0070***	0.0070***	0,035**
I feel pressured by goals, deadlines, etc.	0.446	0.895	0,268
I feel I constantly need to prove my value	0.243	0.946	0,948
I feel that my colleagues of the opposite sex constantly need to prove their value and competency	0.311	0.878	0,053*
I am able to conciliate my professional and personal lives	0.366	0.0020***	0,021**
I believe that my colleagues of the opposite sex are able to conciliate their professional and personal lives	0.762	0.258	0,1
Currently, I would change careers in order to be able to dedicate myself to maternity/paternity	0.269	0.491	0,331
In the future, I would change careers in order to dedicate myself to maternity/paternity	0.0260**	0.0020***	0,851

Source: Research data.

Note: *** shows statistical significance at a level of 1%; ** shows statistical significance at a level of 5%; * shows statistical significance at a level of 10%.

Table 8. Frequency distribution of the questions about harassment.

Affirmation	Frequency
	5	4	3	2	1
I have suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a client	10%	16%	11%	9%	54%
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a client	28%	29%	13%	7%	23%
I have suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a supervisor	15%	19%	9%	4%	53%
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a supervisor	34%	25%	9%	4%	29%
I have suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a colleague	12%	11%	12%	9%	55%
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from another colleague	24%	21%	13%	5%	37%

Source: Research data.

Note: The scale used ranges from ‘1 – Completely Disagree’ to ‘5 – Completely Agree’.

Table 9. Harassment stratification.

Affirmation	Chi-square
	Sex	Company	Hierarchy	Race
I have suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a customer	0.066*	0.457	0.009***	0.297
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a customer	0.249	0.853	0.488	0.845
I have suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a supervisor	0.040**	0.382	0.779	0.303
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a supervisor	0.23	0.487	0.901	0.368
I have suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from a colleague	0.046**	0.265	0.562	0.766
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered harassment (moral/sexual) from another colleague	0.12	0.848	0.947	0.489

Source: Research data.

Table 10. Discrimination perceptions.

Affirmation	5	4	3	2	1	Race
I've suffered discrimination from some client	7.60%	15.81%	12.46%	9.12%	55.02%	0.307
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered discrimination from a client	17.33%	24.62%	12.16%	7.29%	38.60%	0.707
I've suffered discrimination from some supervisor	6.38%	12.46%	12.16%	7.90%	61.09%	0.546
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered of discrimination from a supervisor	18.54%	18.54%	11.55%	7.60%	43.77%	0.977
I've suffered discrimination from another colleague	6.69%	9.73%	13.68%	7.60%	62.31%	0.384
I'm aware of a colleague having suffered of discrimination from another colleague	13.07%	17.02%	13.68%	9.12%	47.11%	0.695

Source: Research data. Note: *** shows statistical significance at a level of 1%; ** shows statistical significance at a level of 5%; * shows statistical significance at a level of 10%.

Note: The scale used ranges from ‘1 – Completely Disagree’ to ‘5 – Completely Agree’.

Table 11. Wage gap and career perception by sex.

Is there a wage gap between men and women?	Sex of the respondent		Is the auditing career harder for women?	Sex of the respondent
	Male	Female		Male	Female
Men's salaries are higher	2.9%	15.6%	Career is harder for men	0.57%	0.65%
2	0.0%	5.2%	2	1.71%	0.00%
3	5.1%	9.7%	3	1.14%	0.65%
There is no wage gap	90.9%	68.2%	Equally hard to both	28.00%	12.34%
5	0.6%	1.3%	5	26.86%	9.09%
6	0.0%	0.0%	6	20.00%	17.53%
Women's salaries are higher	0.6%	0.0%	Career is harder for women	21.71%	59.74%
Average	3.89	3.34	Average	5.30	6.20
Sex	Mann-Whitney	0.000***	Sex	Mann-Whitney	0.000***
Type of company	Kruskal-Wallis	0.001***
Hierarchical position	Kruskal-Wallis	0.059*

Source: Research data.

Note: *** shows statistical significance at a level of 1%; ** shows statistical significance at a level of 5%; * shows statistical significance at a level of 10%.

Table 12. Analysis of the effectiveness of retention policies.

Affirmation	Male respondents					Female respondents
	5	4	3	2	1	5	4	3	2	1
I believe those policies are efficient	3.49%	12.79%	22.09%	37.21%	24.42%	3.61%	37.35%	27.71%	22.89%	8.43%
I believe my colleagues of the same sex as mine believe that the policy's results are efficient	4.00%	13.00%	25.00%	42.00%	16.00%	5.95%	34.52%	28.57%	22.62%	8.33%
I believe that my colleagues of the opposite sex believe that the policy's results are efficient	4.00%	14.00%	26.00%	40.00%	16.00%	10.71%	34.52%	32.14%	16.67%	5.95%

Source: Research data.

Table 13. Analysis of the need for retention policies for companies which do not have any.

Affirmation	Male respondents					Female respondents
	5	4	3	2	1	5	4	3	2	1
I believe a policy should be created	26.7%	20.0%	28.0%	6.7%	18.7%	34.3%	22.9%	18.6%	7.1%	17.1%
I believe that my colleagues of the same sex as mine believe such a policy should be created	17.33%	9.33%	41.33%	21.33%	10.67%	30.00%	21.43%	32.86%	7.14%	8.57%
I believe my colleagues of the opposite sex believe such a policy should be created	13.33%	4.00%	32.00%	20.00%	30.67%	8.57%	12.86%	47.14%	10.00%	21.43%

Source: Research data.