AN EXAMINATION OF GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ACCOUNTING STUDENTS’ VALUES AT TWO POINTS IN TIME
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60154/jaepp.2017.v18n4p551Keywords:
Accounting Students’ Values, Change in Moral Values, Gender Differences in Moral Values, Moral Values, Schwartz Value SurveyAbstract
Gender differences in values have a significant impact on the accounting profession with female accountants exhibiting more diligence, higher levels of accuracy for more complex judgments, and less acceptance of unethical behavior (O’Donnell and Johnson, 2001; Chung and Moore, 2001; Pierce and Sweeney, 2010). This study examines gender differences in accounting students’ values to gain an understanding of the differences that exist in future accountants. The study examines gender differences in value types and higher order values – as defined by the Schwartz (1992) survey –and the change in these values between 2004 and 2010. The findings of this research suggest that accounting students tend to embrace a desirable set of values – conservatism and self-transcendence – necessary for the development of the accounting profession. This is mainly due to significant increase in conservation values adopted by female students such as conformity, tradition, and security between 2004 and 2010. Contrary to male accounting students who choose openness to change as their most preferred set of values, female accounting students continuously rank self-transcendence as their most important one. The outcome of this study raises the question of whether the set of values adopted by female students make them more prepared for a career in accounting.