A more egalitarian gendered experience in the accounting profession in Romania: a communist legacy?

Purpose In order to understand gender transformation within the accounting profession in Romania, we investigate the professional development of women accountants within the wider political, social and cultural context of Romania's communist period, between 1948 and 1989. Design/methodology/approach We developed a framework based on Romanian mythology, i.e., the legend of Baba Dochia’ to analyse a mix of person-centred and state-centred motivations of Romanian female workers and leaders in accounting, and employed the focus group method to obtain testimonies from 30 women and men working in accounting. Findings Our research reveals that political (e.g., legislation promoting women), social (e.g., being encouraged to pursue a profession considered “more suitable” for women) and cultural (e.g., obedience and collectivist behaviours) factors influenced women's emancipation. We identified barriers to women accountants' progress, including access to leadership positions, although some tend to be less pronounced (e.g., patriarchal attitudes, stereotyping) or take on specific nuances in the Romanian context (e.g., motherhood, glass ceiling), compared to what the literature reports for other countries. Originality/value We explain our results in terms of incentives and barriers Romanian women faced by assigning different weights to personal and external motivations for two categories of women: accountants and leaders in accounting. We conclude that some female accountants (particularly some who had cope with the burden of daily life) have benefited from a de facto equality with their male counterparts.