A new culture? Evidence of support for diversity in public accounting performance evaluation judgments

Prior research has documented the existence of a white male culture in large public accounting firms that has long dominated most aspects of these firms. This culture has arguably resulted in systematic workplace bias against females and minorities and their exclusion from opportunities for advancement. The accounting profession, led by the Big Five firms, has recently focused efforts on developing a new "diversity culture" intended to make the workplace more accessible to and supportive of all personnel. This exploratory study examines the current impact of race and gender on the performance evaluation judgments of audit seniors representing one Big Five firm. The results indicate that, under some circumstances, the job performance and career prospects of females (both non-white and white) were rated as high as, or higher than, those of white males. The implications of these findings for the profession and future research are discussed.