Ernst & Young and PwC are on track to meet their 2025 target for female partner representation in the UK, as the Big Four accountancy firms work to fully increase the proportion of women at senior levels.
EY UK, while setting the most ambitious targets, is expected to achieve its targets most significantly. The firm aims to have 40% of female equity partners by this year, with last year's figures showing only 28% of partners in the country were women.
Audit firms have increased the number of women in senior roles in recent years, with EY recently appointing Janet Truncale as its new global chair and Anna Anthony as its new UK managing partner.
But improving gender balance in partnerships to achieve equality has proven to be a slow process, a phenomenon also seen in fields such as law and banking.
In recent years, the Big Four accountancy firms have all set targets to increase the proportion of female partners to help close the gender pay gap, which by the end of 2020 tended to account for less than a fifth of UK women. 2010s.
PwC is 3 percentage points short of its target of 30% of UK partners being female by 2025, according to its latest figures. That number has increased by 1 to 2 percentage points each year since 2021, meaning an even bigger leap will be needed to close the gap before PwC releases new data later this year.
KPMG and Deloitte have already achieved their goals in the UK. The former was the first of the Big Four to publish gender diversity data more than a decade ago, and exceeded its interim target of 25% in 2022. By 2023, the company's UK partner ratio will be 29%.
Deloitte reported last year that 30% of its partners are women, ahead of its 2025 deadline for reaching that number.
However, both firms were on track to achieve their global partnership goals – something that neither PwC nor EY fell short of.
The Big Four accountancy firms believe that increasing the number of female partners will take time as a pool of candidates with sufficient experience needs to be built up to be promoted.
Karl Edge, chief people officer at KPMG UK, said the firm was "committed to creating an inclusive environment", adding: "While progress may fluctuate, we are committed to delivering greater success at all levels of the company. Good representation, challenge yourself and get on the right track “further and faster. "
KPMG International said it would "continue to build momentum on gender equality" and that it remained a "strategic priority".
Deloitte UK people and purpose managing partner Jackie Henry said the firm was "proud" to have achieved its 2025 target a year ahead of schedule. "But . . . we will continue to hold ourselves accountable and work towards greater gender equality."
Ernst & Young and PwC declined to comment.