EQUAL PARTNERS
Book Author: Roland Ezri
Burlington, Canada
Contact Roland
Photo by Studio Von Dulong, Ottawa, Ontario
Background
Extract from the introduction:
We are all the product of the culture that nurtured us. In turn, a book will reflect, at least to a certain extent, the cultural background of the writer. But every rule has exceptions.
I was born, and spent the first 20 years of my life, in Egypt. Nothing in my upbringing has ever suggested to me that women can, or should, have any power.
In my society, women had well-defined duties which they were expected to discharge properly. They also had a say in many family matters, but major decisions (such as immigrating to another country) were taken by the man of the house.
I can still hear my father (an open-minded man within the constraints of his time and the mores of his society) saying: “a ship cannot have two captains.” Ironically, many years later, his son would sit down and write a book suggesting that this ship (our planet) should have two captains!
In 1964, I immigrated to Canada and have lived there ever since.
Education
I am a Certified General Accountant (C.G.A.). A C.G.A. is roughly equivalent to a C.P.A.
Work Experience
I worked for the “Office of the Auditor General of Canada” (O.A.G.), which is more or less similar to the “General Accounting Office” (G.A.O.) in the U.S., for many years. My work involved auditing specific activities of government programs and preparing a report on my findings.
Previous Writing
In collaboration with my ex-wife, I completed in 1993 my autobiography, Anguish! Realizing that an autobiography is hard to publish, I tried, at the time, to convince potential publishers to start a series of “Families in Crisis” books, but had no luck. The book remains unpublished.
Impact Of Work Experience On Equal Partners
How can an accountant write a book on women’s issues?
Because of my training, experience, and the fact that in my profession I was exposed to many people and situations, I believe that I am more qualified to write this book than say a psychologist, sociologist, or even a person who has devoted her/his life to women’s issues. My arguments follow.
Fortunately (some will say unfortunately), we all know by now how creative accountants can be! They have to be both creative and versatile, at least the ones who are engaged in auditing, for they continually deal with new clients, new situations. An auditor at the G.A.O. could be mandated by Congress to look at food safety. Next, she could be looking at the I.R.S. assessment system, and before the year is over, she could find herself on an Indian Reservation trying to sort out a treaty dispute.
You will find in many places in the book the following: “During my years in the auditing profession, I have observed…” I did indeed observe many things (and incorporated as much as I could in the book) and was particularly disturbed by two things: lack of respect towards women, and the implausible reasons used all the time to block their career path.
Finally, my training and experience as an auditor allowed me to get to the root of the problem. Women, indeed all of society, are blissfully unaware of the fact that the methods presently used will never lead to gender equity.
