The IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) and IFAC (International Federation of Accountants), with the support of global and regional research partners and research advisors, conducted a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) research study with three primary demographic focus areas: gender, nationality, and people of determination.* This study included an online survey of more than 1,100 current and former accounting professionals and interviews of 13 accounting practitioners and academics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. All survey respondents self-identified as current or former members of the MENA accounting profession and varied in experience level, country, and age. Ninety percent of survey respondents in this study identified as being current or former members of the accounting profession in the following countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Once offering only limited access points for women and persons from diverse ethnic groups, the accounting profession in the MENA region—encompassing public accounting and management accounting (accountants and financial professionals working in organizations)—now boasts representation including women, a host of ethnicities and nationalities, and those identifying as people of determination, among others. Yet obstacles to DE&I progress remain.
Research findings included in this report can help drive more diverse, equitable, and inclusive business environments and remedy DE&I gaps identified in this study.
Once offering only limited access points for women and persons from diverse ethnic groups, the accounting profession in the MENA region—encompassing public accounting and management accounting (accountants and financial professionals working in organizations)—now boasts representation including women, a host of ethnicities and nationalities, and those identifying as people of determination, among others. Yet obstacles to DE&I progress remain.
Research findings included in this report can help drive more diverse, equitable, and inclusive business environments and remedy DE&I gaps identified in this study.
*Under the National Policy for Empowering People of Determination, the UAE government decided to refer to “people with special needs or disabilities” as “the determined ones.” Consistent with this decision, throughout this report, persons identifying as having special needs or disabilities are referred to as people of determination.