Women managers in global economy - scarcity of female expatriates - Going Global

The scarcity of women expatriates, who hold only 3 percent of international management positions, could be hindering business success as well as eliminating women from promotion into the most senior executive positions, according to recent research.

Given the historical scarcity of local women managers in most countries, most organizations question if women can succeed in international assignments. Employers base their reasoning on three assumptions:

* Women do not want to be international managers.

* Companies refuse to send women abroad.

* Foreigners' prejudice against women renders them ineffective, although many women are interested in international assignments and are successful when sent.

These assumptions cause HR managers and line executives to make decisions that are neither effective nor equitable. in our research, we labeled these beliefs as "myths" because, although widely believed by both men and women, no one knew whether they were true or false.

MYTH 1: Women do not want to be international managers

Is the problem that women are less interested than men in international careers? We tested this myth by surveying more than 1,000 graduating MBAs. The results revealed an overwhelming of "no significant difference;" female and male MBAs display equal interest in pursuing international careers. More than four out of five MBAs (both women and men) want an international assignment at some time during their career.

MYTH 2: Companies refuse to send women abroad

To see if the myth of corporate resistance was true, we interviewed human resource vice presidents and managers from many of the largest North American companies. More than half of the companies surveyed do hesitate to send women abroad.

Almost four times as many firms are reluctant to select women for international assignments as are hesitant to promote into domestic management positions. When asked why they hesitate, almost three quarters report that foreigners are so prejudiced women that the women managers could not succeed even if sent. Similarly, 70 percent believe that dual-career issues are insurmountable. Some survey respondents also expressed concern about the women's physical safety, the hazards involved in travel in underdeveloped countries and, especially in the case of single women, the isolation and loneliness.

Many women expatriate managers report that they had to overcome corporate resistance. Following are some examples of female expatriate experiences: "Management assumed that women didn't have the physical stamina to survive in the tropics. They claimed I couldn't hack it."--Malaysia "My company didn't want to send a woman to that 'horrible part of the world.' They think Bangkok is an excellent place to send single men, but not a woman. They said they would have trouble getting a work permit for me, which wasn't true."--Thailand "Everyone was more or less curious if it would work. My American boss tried to advise me, Don't be upset if it's difficult in Japan and Korea.' The American male manager in Tokyo was also hesitant. Finally the Chinese boss in Hong Kong said, We have to try!' Then they sent me.--Japan and Korea

Although most companies send women in the same capacity as their male expatriate colleagues, some companies show their hesitation by offering only temporary or travel assignments to women rather than regular expatriate positions. For instance: "After offering me the job, they hesitated: 'Could a woman work with the Chinese?' So my job was defined as temporary, a one-year position to train a Chinese man to replace me. I succeeded and became permanent."--Hong Kong

MYTH 3: Foreigners are prejudiced against women expatriate managers

To investigate this third myth, we surveyed more than 100 women managers from major North American firms who were on international assignments in countries around the world.

Ninety percent of the women expatriates are "firsts"--only 10 percent follow another woman into the international position. Yet almost all women managers (97 percent) successful on international assignments. success rate is considerably higher than that of North American male expatriates.

Female advantages. Almost half of the women expatriates surveyed report that being female serves as more of an advantage than a disadvantage; only one in five finds it to be primarily negative.

Visibility is the first advantage of being a woman international manager. Foreign client are curious about women, want to meet them and remember them after the first meeting

Women also gain an advantage based on their interpersonal skills. The women find that the local men can often talk more easily with them about a wider range of topics than with their male colleagues.

Women often receive special treatment not given to their male colleagues. While it is always salient that women are managers, being a woman is not a handicap to succeeding as an international manager.

Most women also benefit from a "halo effect." The local community is usually highly aware of how unusual it is for North American firms to send women managers abroad. Local managers therefore assume that the women expatriates would not have been sent unless they are "the best." Some women find that being female has no impact whatsoever on their professional life. Below are a few examples:

"There are many expat and foreign women in top positions here. If you are good at what you do, they accept you."

--Hong Kong "There's no difference. They respect professionalism ... including in Japan. There is no problem in Asia." --Asia

Female disadvantages. For many women, the most difficult hurdle is figuring out how to get their home company to send them abroad, not--as most anticipate--gaining the respect of foreigners and succeeding once sent.

Home companies create disadvantages for a woman when they limit the length of assignment, rather than offering her the standard two to three years. While temporary assignments appear to offer companies a logically cautious strategy, in reality they create an unfortunate self-fulfilling prophecy. When the home company is not convinced that a woman can succeed (and therefore offers her a temporary, rather than a permanent, position), it communicates the company's lack of confidence to foreign colleagues and clients as a lack of commitment. The foreigners then mirror the home company's behavior by also failing to take the woman manager seriously. Assignments become difficult, or can fail altogether, when companies demonstrate a lack of initial confidence and commitment. As one expatriate woman working in Indonesia describes, "It is very important to clients that Iam permanent. It increases trust, and that's critical.

A similar problem occurs when the home company limits the woman's professional opportunities and job scope. For example, some companies, out of supposed concern for the woman's safety, limit her travel (and thus the regional scope of her responsibility), excluding very remote, rural and underdeveloped areas.

A few companies limit women to working only intemally with company employees, rather than externally with clients. These companies assume that their own employees are somehow less prejudiced than are outsiders. In reality, women often find the opposite to be true. They face more problems from home country nationals within their own company than externally from local clients and colleagues.

Managing foreign clients' and colleagues' initial expectations proves difficult for many women, especially when a male colleague from their own company is present. Since most local managers have never previously met a North American expatriate woman who holds a managerial position, there is often considerable ambiguity as to who she is, her status, her level of expertise, authority and responsibility, and therefore the way to behave toward her.

Since most North American women whom local managers have previously ever met were expatriates' wives or secretaries, they naturally assume that the new woman is not a manager. Hence, they often direct initial comments to male colleagues, not to the newly arrived women manager. Senior male colleagues become very important in redirecting the focus of early discussions back toward the women. When this is done, old patterns are quickly broken and smooth work relationships established. However, if the pattern is ignored or poorly managed, the challenges to credibility, authority and responsibility become chronic and undermine the woman's effectiveness.

The "gaijin" syndrome

One pattern is particularly clear: foreigners are seen as foreigners. Like their male colleagues, women expatriates are seen as foreigners, not as local people. A woman who is a foreigner (a gaijin) is not expected to act like the local women. Therefore, the cultural norms limiting the access of local women to managerial positions and responsibility do not apply to foreign women. Although women are the culture bearers" in all societies, foreign women are not expected to assume the cultural roles that societies traditionally reserve for their own women.

A Tokyo-based personnel vice president for a major international bank told the Wall Street Journal: "Being a foreigner is so weird to the Japanese that the marginal impact of being a woman is nothing. If I were a Japanese woman, I couldn't be doing what I'm doing here. But they know perfectly well that I'm not."

Local managers see women expatriates as foreigners who happen to be women, not as women who happen to be foreigners. The difference is crucial. Given the uncertainty involved in sending women managers on international assignments, our mistaken assumption about the greater salience of gender (female/male) over nationality (foreign/local) causes us to make false predictions concerning women's potential to succeed as executives and managers in foreign countries.

New ways to look at assignments

Of the three myths, only the second myth proved to be true: Companies are hesitant, if not completely unwilling, to send women managers abroad. Given that the problem is caused primarily by home company assumptions and decisions, the solutions are also largely within the home company's control. In selecting women managers for international assignments, companies need to approach the decision in new ways. Companies should:

Assume that it will work. Do not assume that foreigners will treat women expatriate managers the same way they treat their own local women. Therefore, do not use the treatment of local women to predict the success or failure of women expatriate managers.

Do not confuse the role of a spouse with that of a manager. Although the single most common reason for many a male expatriate's failure and early return from an international assignment is the dissatisfaction of his wife, this does not mean that women managers won't succeed. The role of the spouse (whether male or female) is much more ambiguous and, consequently, the cross-cultural adjustment is much more demanding for the spouse than for the employee. Wives have had trouble adjusting, but their situation is not at all the same as that of women managers, and therefore is not predictive.

Do not assume that women managers will not want to go abroad. Ask them. The proportion of single and married women interested in working abroad is identical to that of men. And that interest will increase over the coming decade.

Offer flexible benefits packages. Given that most expatriate benefits packages were designed to meet the needs of traditional families (employed husband, nonemployed wife and children), companies should be prepared to modify their benefits packages to meet the needs of managers who are single (female or male) or in dual-career marriages. Such modifications might include increased lead time in announcing assignments, executive search services for the partner in dual-career couples, and payment for staying connected" (including telephone and airfare expenses) for couples who choose some form of commuting rather than both simultaneously relocating abroad.

Give women every opportunity to succeed. Accord them full status at the outset--not that of a temporary or experimental expatriate--with the appropriate titles to communicate the company's commitment to them. Do not be surprised if local colleagues and clients initially direct their comments to male managers rather than to the new female expatriate during their first meeting with her. However, do not accept such behavior. Train managers to redirect discussion, where appropriate, to the woman. Train managers to interpret such behavior from foreign colleagues as a reaction to a new, ambiguous and unexpected situation, not as necessarily an expression of prejudice.

Recommendations to women managers

Assume naivete, not malice. Realize that sending women abroad is new for most companies, perceived as risky, and still fairly poorly understood. In most cases, companies and foreign managers are operating on the basis of untested assumptions, many of which are faulty. Don't assume that they are acting on the basis of prejudice. Instead, gently and persistently educate the company to consider the possibility of sending a woman abroad. Point out why the company should grant women the same status and support it usually gives to men in similar situations.

Be excellent. Because sending women abroad is perceived as risky, no company will select a woman unless she is seen as technically and professionally excellent. Beyond becoming well qualified, it helps to arrange to be in the right place at the right time.

Address private life issues directly. For single women, the issue of loneliness, and for married women, the issue of managing a dual-career relationship, must be creatively addressed. Talking to other expatriate women managers has proven helpful in both situations. For dual-career couples, most women consider it critical that they discuss the possibility of an international assignment with their husband long before such a possibility becomes a reality The couple needs to creatively develop options that could work for them. The company needs to support those options. For most couples, this means creating new alternatives that have never, or rarely, been tried before in her company.

Realize that expatriate status inadvertently helps to solve some of the role overload problems experienced by many women who are managers, wives and mother. Since many expatriate managers can afford household help while on an international assignment,but not in their home country, they are able to reduce substantially tthe demands on their time. Global competition is, and will continue to be, intense in the 1990s. Can companies risk not choosing the best person just because her gender does not fit the traditional managerial profile? Can they continue to blame their own prejudice on foreigner ? Needs for the competitive advantage, rather than an all-consuming social conscience, may answer these questions, if not in fact define them. Successful companies will select both women and men to manage their international operations. The option of limiting international management to one gender is an archaic luxury" that no company can afford. The only remaining question is how quickly and effectively companies will increase the number and use of women in their worldwide managerial workforce.

Editor's note: This article is based on Adler's article "Competitive Frontiers: Women Managing Across Borders" in Dr. Adler and Dafna N. Izraeli's new book Competitive Frontiers: Women Managers in a Global Economy (Blackwell Publishers, 64 Depot Road, Colchester, Vt., U.S.A. 05446, FAX: 802-878-8956 or Tel: 800-488-2665).

Nancy J. Adler, Ph.D., is a professor in the faculty of management at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She will be a speaker at SHRM's Institute of International HR conference, "World Congress on Personnel Management," to be held February 27 - March 2, 1994, in San Francisco.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Society for Human Resource Management
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