International Women’s Day – Lorynne Schreiber

Halving It All

I am a product of the 70’s and early 80’s when Ms. Magazine proclaimed that women could have it all: careers, husbands and children. We were told that men and women were equals in the workplace: equal pay for equal work and equal opportunities for all.

I, like many of my peers, bought into this notion of equality. The valedictorians of both my high school and university graduating classes were women. I chose a career path in accounting, a traditionally male-dominated profession, because I could. We women were on our way as we entered the working world!

But were we, really?

Yes, we could have careers, but we were paid half of what men got paid and we worked twice as hard to prove ourselves. Assertive women were considered overbearing or bossy while assertive men were labelled “go-getters” and were rewarded with promotions and career advancement.

Married women with families ran the household in addition to holding down full-time jobs. Women still did the cooking, the shopping, the laundry, organized childcare, took the kids to their appointments and organized their activities. So, yes, we could have it all, but we also did it all. We were doing two jobs (work and home) and our careers were limited by the glass ceilings held firmly in place by men. Women who took time off to raise families were viewed as lacking commitment to employers and their career progression stagnated.

When my first child was born in the mid-90s, I truly thought that I was on my way to having it all! I had a career, a husband, and now I had a family too! I thought I was on equal footing with my male colleagues who were also just starting their families. I was encouraged when my promotion to manager occurred mid-way through my maternity leave.

When my maternity leave ended, I returned to work on a part-time schedule (the same three-day-a- week schedule I’ve maintained for nearly thirty years). I was the first client-facing part-time professional employee in the firm. I thought this part-time schedule would be the best of both worlds: I’d be able to advance my career and still spend time with my children. It seemed to be the perfect solution; I’d have half of this and half of that and I wouldn’t miss anything at work or at home.

I was wrong.

Although I managed the firm’s Canada-wide U.S. tax compliance practice and gave an annual presentation to all the U.S. tax managers and partners across Canada, I did not receive the professional writing and speaking opportunities that my colleagues enjoyed. Younger colleagues’ careers progressed more quickly as they proved themselves through these exposures that I, as a part-time manager, did not receive.

My colleagues routinely scheduled our weekly staffing meeting on one of my non-workdays. In order to ensure that my work was assigned and completed, I rearranged my schedule week after week so I could attend this staffing meeting via conference call. One of the other managers frequently directed the staff people to put his work ahead of mine simply because I wasn’t in the room. Although I never missed a client’s filing deadline and I had the highest billing and collection statistics among the managers in my group, if I needed to work from home in order to accommodate a child’s appointment or attend a school

event, my commitment was questioned. On one such day, I called into a group meeting and the partner to whom I reported announced to the entire group, “Oh, you really are working from home.”

One of my male colleagues whose chargeable percentage was below mine, whose WIP went unbilled and whose receivables languished, was paid twenty percent more than I was. He was put on the partner track.

Meanwhile, I was stuck on the mommy track, balancing client obligations and household demands.

I was doing it all and I was on my way…to half of this and half of that.

Half of this and half of that does not total one hundred percent of any one thing, but for me, it was the best that it could be. I was able to continue to practice tax and I was able to volunteer at my kids’ school.

I am happy to say that the challenging experiences in my earlier career pre-dated my employment at Zeifmans U.S. Tax group, where I can proudly proclaim that I enjoy equality with my male colleagues. We receive equal pay for equal work, and we are all provided with equal opportunities. Encouraging inclusion in our group is not something that I consciously consider as all of the U.S. tax staff below manager are currently women. I hope that their commitment, as well as that of their male counterparts, is never questioned, should they choose a reduced workweek or take an extended parental leave.

I am no longer the only part-time employee in the U.S. Tax group, and I now share the Zeifmans’ Director title with several other very worthy women, all of whom have faced their own challenges along their unique career journeys.

Professional employees below the partner level are staffed equally by men and women. Clearly, Zeifmans values the contributions that women make as women hold many leadership positions within the firm: the CFO, Office Manager, and Heads of Human Resources and Marketing are all women. These women are instrumental in shaping Zeifmans’ policies and procedures.

Nonetheless, of the twenty partners at Zeifmans, only one partner is a woman.

We are finally on our way, and we still have a way to go.

Author: Lorynne Schreiber, US Tax Director 

Member firm name: Zeifmans LLP

Country: Canada

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