Varying importance of the work-life balance dimension of career success for Korean accountants: The effects of gender and generation

College of Business Administration, Kookmin University, 77 Jungreung-Ro, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, 02707, South Korea

^* Corresponding author: najungkim@kookmin.ac.kr

Abstract

In this study, we examine the effects of gender, generation, and the interaction between gender and generation on Korean accountants’ perception of career success. With the large survey data collected from 1,000 accountants working in South Korea, we found that Korean female accountants have higher perceived importance of work-life balance dimension of career success than male accountants; and younger generations (Millennials or younger) have higher perceived importance for this dimension than older generations (Generation X or older). No interaction effects between gender and generation were found in relation to the perceived importance of work-life balance dimension of career success. Specifically, female accountants had higher perceived importance of work-life balance than their male counterparts regardless of generation; and while the mean was higher for younger generations the gap between the female accountants’ means and the male accountants’ means of work-life balance dimension has not been reduced. The insignificant interaction effects between gender and generation regarding the perceived level of the work-life balance dimension of career success suggest that, despite the national and organizational efforts in changing the gender discriminating practices, Korean accounting field may still be making a very slow progress in breaking its glass ceiling.