Raphael Bohne
Research expert covering professional services
Diversity at the Big Four accounting/auditing firms in the U.S. - statistics and facts
The workforce of the Big Four accounting/auditing firms has increased significantly over the last several years. The number of employees working for the Big Four totaled roughly 1.5 million people in 2023. Such large employment figures have resulted in these firms having a significant say in the world of accounting and auditing. As a result, there has been considerable public interest into equal employment opportunities and published diversity statistics. These are often referred to in the same bracket as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies that are designed to encourage companies to act responsibly. This increase in interest has not gone unnoticed as the share of professional investors increasing their ESG investments worldwide grew by 50 percent in the last year, with the leading reason for ESG investing being brand and reputation.
Although there have been some positive and more representative changes within the Big Four in the United States when it has come to employment demographics, the fact remains that partner and leadership positions have remained overwhelmingly white and male. The consulting industry has not been the only area of employment that has seen similar patterns, with the diversity of law firms in the United States showing a similar correlation.
Gender diversity
On the surface level of gender diversity within the Big Four, there has been a relatively even share of men and women working for these firms. EY, for example, had a consistently even gender share of its total professional workforce over the last few years. It is when this statistic is broken down into administrative versus senior roles within the firm that the picture becomes somewhat more clear. More than three quarters of partners working for EY in the last year were men, whereas women made up almost 86 percent of administrative roles. The same has been true when compared to the percentage of female leaders at PwC.Equal employment opportunity in the United States
Since 2008, the number of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforcement lawsuits in the United States have fallen by more than half. These figures have correlated with the widespread publishing of ESG reports following the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Investment in 2006 where the concept was first introduced. Despite this, a large gender wage gap has still existed in the United States, particularly in the professional and technical services industry. Furthermore, the median household income of both Black and Hispanic Americans has historically been considerably lower than that of white Americans.Although there have been some positive and more representative changes within the Big Four in the United States when it has come to employment demographics, the fact remains that partner and leadership positions have remained overwhelmingly white and male. The consulting industry has not been the only area of employment that has seen similar patterns, with the diversity of law firms in the United States showing a similar correlation.
