Accenture

"Only about 35% of leadership roles are held by women. They are trying to address this by giving internal training to women to help them grow into leadership roles. There's a lot of talk of mentors and champions, but finding the right one is a challenge."

"I've been with Accenture, assigned to the same client, for almost 10 years. Accenture is very mom-friendly, very flexible and has great benefits. Although there are many, many women in senior management across the world, in my geographic area the "boys club" vibe still exists. Base pay is good. Raises have been very light for the last few years of everyone but the superstars."

"Women are treated fairly and I believe there is upward mobility. however, you have to be comfortable with the lifestyle - late nights and early mornings, and a lot of time on the road"

"Accenture is filled with opportunities, and it's for sure important to deliver results - but that doesn't get you where you want to go. I have had several senior women as mentors/guidance and I'd encourage any woman who joins to find a couple of senior women to learn from. Some of the key tips I've gotten and are practicing: be crisp on your story/pitch and your selling points, be comfortable with "showing off" (it can be done elegant), figure out what you want to do, and then be proactive about asking for it and dont clean up after meetings or offer to be involved in the support roles - that all impacts the way your colleagues see you. On work-life balance: Senior people expect a lot, and you can easily put in 60+ hours if you dont protect yourself. If you want a work-life balance (I dont work in the weekends) while still getting ahead, you got to make strategic choices about what to get involved in and protect yourself. Finally, Accenture is definately leaning towards a maskulin culture, so you got to be ok with adapting to that way of working."

"Leadership cares about diversity and hiring women. Less women in the chain the further up you go. In this huge company it is so important to network and find others up on the chain who can vouch for you and support you. This can be more difficult for women as there are less women in leadership positions."