Decline in female partners this year

The proportion of women appointed partners at the "Big Four" accountancy firms this year has fallen by a third compared to 2006, in spite of the fact that the firms have strived to attract women to senior roles, the Financial Times has reported.

Research by Accountancy magazine has revealed that only 14 per cent of accountants promoted this year were women, a notable decrease from last year's 21 per cent.

The biggest accountancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, experienced a drop in female partner promotion from 21 per cent to 13 per cent.

Board member Moira Elms said: "When we saw what was coming through, I won't deny we thought 'crikey' but we took a really good look and, genuinely, it's one of those blips."

"We have a lot of women who weren't quite ready and it's our view that they want to get there on merit alone, not because they are female."

Meanwhile, the number of new female partners at Ernst & Young fell even more dramatically from 28 to 12 per cent.

"There's a legacy in the profession - just as in the City generally - of a male-dominated profession but we're doing our best to try and change that," said Ernst & Young managing partner Mike Cullen.