Ecological underpinnings of niche identity and diversity within the profession

Purpose - Diversity and inclusion is a key focus of the profession. This paper investigates the ecological inherited niche of Indonesia and which employers accounting students choose and whether this will result in a diverse and inclusive profession. The authors conceptualise diversity as the demand-from the profession encompassing professional accounting firms, and inclusion as the supply of individuals wishing to enter the profession. Design/methodology/approach - The 1377 responses to a questionnaire survey of students deciding on their career paths were analysed using a multinomial logistic regression and path model. Findings - The findings show that a lack of diversity in the profession is caused by the ecological background, constructing a local niche, that prevents diversity. This is manifest in ethnicity, gender and education, whereby the local niche consists of Chinese males recruited from B-rated private universities. To bring diversity and inclusivity into the workplace, the profession needs to entice people from multi-faceted groups and match ecological niche underpinnings to expectations of the professional landscape. Non-Chinese females are needed to become role models and trail blazers to establish a diverse profession. The public interest will then be better served. Originality/value - This study uses niche construction as the theoretical framing and demonstrates that the profession needs to take action to become truly diverse and inclusive.