The quest for diverse doctors, lawyers and accountants: LatPro comments on professional diversity in the Daily Report

Law firms are not alone in the quest for racial diversity. Accountants and doctors report similar hurdles

[…]

The legal profession is hardly the only arena where well-intentioned efforts to achieve workplace diversity have proven spotty. At least two other traditional professions — doctors and accountants —also have not developed at a pace diversity advocates envision.

All three labor to attain a diverse profession, though to varying degrees. While each has made considerable strides on the front end — recruitment — accountants and lawyers, it appears, struggle with retention. Indeed, Minority Law Journal's most recent Diversity Scorecard showed that even among the firms recognized for the highest percentages of racial minority lawyers — usually in the 20 percent range — minorities account for no more than 6 percent of the partners.

While whites hold down 80 percent of accounting jobs at CPA firms, they fill 91 percent of partner positions, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Mainly in the past 10 to 15 years, companies and higher-education institutions have been trotting out an array of initiatives to lure more accountants and physicians into the fold. Attempts to pave career paths for greater inclusion in those careers have been admirable. Success stories abound.

[...]

“The big companies are really good at hiring. They offer a lot of different directions” for employees, noted Rob Steward, sales director for the online job board LatPro, tailored to Hispanic accountants, which recently arranged a job fair in Atlanta. Firms “could do a better job” with retention.

At the same time, he observed that enticing jobs spawned by mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts result in qualified minority accountants leaving for better opportunities.

[…]

Read the complete article here

* bold emphasis added