Woman-to-Woman Workplace Bullying in the Audit Field

Abstract

Interviews with a sample of women in auditing reveal that they experienced women-to-women bullying throughout their public accounting careers. We define these aggressive behaviors in an accounting context and identify theoretical explanations. Since university accounting programs and accounting firms alike share responsibility for preparing and developing new accountants, we also present the interviewee’s recommendations for the academy and the profession to reduce woman-to-woman social aggression. The recommendations can also address communication and interpersonal issues beyond gender-on-gender bullying.