Professions and patriarchy revisited. Accountancy in England and Wales, 1887-1914

New evidence is presented about the campaign to secure the admission of women to the accountancy profession in England and Wales during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This evidence, which permits a more gender-encompassing approach, is analysed by reference to Witz's (1992) conceptual model of the relationship between patriarchy and professionalisation. It is shown that initially the campaign for admission comprised a usurpationary struggle pursued in civil society. Here equal rights were emphasised and credentialist tactics deployed. These efforts were successfully resisted by the professional elite. When, in consequence of male demands for a statutory monopoly, the issue entered the state arena and legalistic tactics were pursued, the admission of women was conceded in principle. However, the subsequent emergence of separatist solutions offered scope for internal demarcation and the creation of a gendered hierarchy within the profession under patriarchal control. The study emphasises the sustained nature of the campaign for the inclusion of women and its alignment with contemporary feminism. It also suggests the importance of proxy male power to the movement and revisits the ideological foundations of male resistance to it.