Sexual Harassment among Male and Female Public Accountants: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

There is a dearth of empirical studies examining sexual harassment within the accounting industry and that which does exist tends to focus exclusively on female victims. Employing six individual-level characteristics and five organizational-level characteristics, this study examines the prevalence and nature of workplace sexual harassment among a sample of male and female certified public accountants. This study also assesses whether the correlates of sexual harassment differ by gender. Results indicate that female respondents have greater risks of encountering sexual harassment relative to male respondents. Further, two organizational-level measures, management’s view on workplace sexual harassment and whether the firm has made adequate provisions to deal with the issue, also emerged as significant predictors of workplace sexual harassment. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Notes

¹ The variable Age was coded as such since 83% of the sample were in this age category (>49). Only two respondents chose the 20–29 years old category, four respondents chose the 30–39 years old category, and ten respondents chose the 40–49 years old.

² Similar to the variable Age, this variable was coded as such since 95% of the sample had 10 years or more of work experience. Only one respondent indicated that s/he had 0–2 years of work experience, two respondents reported that they had 3–5 years of work experience, and two respondents stated that they had 6–9 years of work experience.

³ It is plausible that this finding is a function of the cross-sectional nature of the study. That is, the implementation of policies and guidelines on workplace sexual harassment by the accounting firm may have occurred after the incident of sexual harassment has taken place.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fawn T. Ngo

Fawn T. Ngo is Associate Professor of Criminology in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences at the University of South Florida. Her research interests include criminological theory, interpersonal violence, cybercrime, and predictive analytic applications in criminology and criminal justice. Her work has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, Journal of Criminal Justice, Victims & Offenders: The International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice, and International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.

Nicole L. Piquero

Nicole Leeper Piquero is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Miami. She received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on the study of white-collar and corporate crimes, criminological theory, as well as gender and crime.

Nicholas J. Mastracchio

Dr. Nicholas J. Mastracchio, Jr. was the Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor of Accounting at the University at Albany where he has emeritus status.  He has also been an associate professor at the University of South Florida Sarasota Manatee. He has published books on valuation and auditing for the AICPA and Bloomberg BNA. He was recognized in a study by James Hassleback as one of the most prolific authors in accounting. He has worked in litigation support throughout his career and his testimony has resulted in case law in New York State. He has served as chairman of the New York State Board of Accountancy and he is a member of the CPA Journal editorial board. He has also been the managing partner of a regional CPA firm.

Alex R. Piquero

Alex R. Piquero is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Arts & Sciences Distinguished Scholar at The University of Miami and Professor of Criminology at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. He is also editor of Justice Evaluation Journal. His research interests include criminal careers, criminological theory, crime policy, evidence-based crime prevention, and quantitative research methods. He has received several research, teaching, and service awards and is fellow of both the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In 2019, he received the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Bruce Smith, Sr. Award for outstanding contributions to criminal justice.