For the past few decades, universities, employers and professional bodies globally have invested in mentoring programmes, scholarships and student support initiatives to diversify careers such as professional accounting. The assumption has been that if talented students have help to overcome barriers, representation will improve.
For many socioeconomically marginalised people, going to university is seen as the key to a better life. Accounting has been one of the professions that promises stable jobs, financial security and upward social mobility. But while more students are getting through the university gates, building a successful career in accounting has proved much harder than simply earning a degree.
