American Women's Society of Certified Public Accountants - AWSCPA
Categories: Accounting, Education
In a way, it's sad that female accountants felt the need to start their own organization. But here we are:
The American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) was founded in 1938 with a mission to "enable women in all accounting and finance fields to achieve their full potential and to contribute to their profession." In 2013, the organization decided to change its name to the Accounting & Financial Women's Alliance (AFWA) to include women in all areas of finance.
A main goal is to work towards a greater percentage of women in upper management and other key leadership roles at accounting firms, financial institutions and finance departments at corporations. Even though women were half of newly hired accounting graduates at CPA firms, women make up just 21% of all partners. According to a census by Catalyst in 2011, only 18.4% of executive officers in the finance and insurance industries are women. The organization hopes to improve this situation through conferences, educational events, networking opportunities, mentorships and various career resources to "Connect. Advance. Lead."
