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Mary E. Lanigar became the first woman partner in a Big 8 U.S. public accounting firm in 1957, which was just a year after the local firm in which she had been a partner merged with Arthur Young & Company. This was nearly a decade before the next female was promoted to partnership status at a Big 8 firm. This distinction has gone unrecognized in the accounting literature. Lanigar was able to have a career in public accounting due to the shortage of male accountants during World War II. A study of her career highlights her achievements and adds to the literature on women in accounting.
After retirement from accounting, Lanigar served on several corporate boards and was the first female director on most of those boards. Mary was also active in professional accounting organizations. Her experiences and her perspectives on gender discrimination and feminism are revealing. Lanigar opened doors in accounting and business for women of today and the future.