Gender and Age as Determinants of Job Satisfaction in the Accounting Profession: Evidence from Poland

Abstract

One of the aspects of sustainable social and economic development is providing the public with the opportunity to conduct economic activity. This requires the proper development of information systems, identification of the determinants of performance, and development of the accounting profession. The aim of our study was to assess the sense of job satisfaction and prestige of the accounting profession in Poland, as seen by accountants themselves, depending on factors such as gender, age, and others. The background for the research was a country located in Central and Eastern Europe, which had just been through a political and economic transition. The study used questionnaire surveys and was based on nonparametric statistical methods: Chi-square, U Mann–Whitney, and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Herein, we provided evidence that strong feminization of the profession can be observed in Poland, and that women’s financial satisfaction with their profession was lower than that of men, in small companies as well as in companies without any foreign equity investment. We confirmed that age is more important than gender in differentiating perceived job satisfaction. The findings indicated that the assessment of the accounting profession should be considered when creating legislative solutions for sustainable social and economic development.