Gender and Major Selection: Accounting Versus Finance
Abstract
Male students tend to major in finance and female students tend to major in accounting. In 2006-07, about two-thirds of the U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in finance were awarded to males while about two-thirds of the U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in accounting were awarded to females. Prima facie, this seems odd. Both majors are numbers-based subjects with similar salary and career prospects. Indeed, they are, arguably, closely related fields. To explore this gender-divergence issue, we will present evidence of a longitudinal study of over 350 students enrolled in multiple sections of the junior-level core finance class, which is taken by all business majors. For each student, we analyze the effect of her or his learning style and personality type – along with background information such as grades, major, gender, and race – on his or her ultimate choice of major. Gender and teaching styles of the course instructors are also analyzed.
Location
Room 2904
Publication Type and Release Option
Event
Recommended Citation
Ruff, Craig; Fendler, Richard; and Shrikhande, Milind, "Gender and Major Selection: Accounting Versus Finance " (2010). SoTL Commons Conference. 24.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2010/24
Gender and Major Selection: Accounting Versus Finance
Room 2904
Male students tend to major in finance and female students tend to major in accounting. In 2006-07, about two-thirds of the U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in finance were awarded to males while about two-thirds of the U.S. bachelor's degrees awarded in accounting were awarded to females. Prima facie, this seems odd. Both majors are numbers-based subjects with similar salary and career prospects. Indeed, they are, arguably, closely related fields. To explore this gender-divergence issue, we will present evidence of a longitudinal study of over 350 students enrolled in multiple sections of the junior-level core finance class, which is taken by all business majors. For each student, we analyze the effect of her or his learning style and personality type – along with background information such as grades, major, gender, and race – on his or her ultimate choice of major. Gender and teaching styles of the course instructors are also analyzed.
