Companies are sending fewer women on international asssignments than just five years ago. In 2010, women made up 17% of international expatriates, compared to 23% in 2005, according to th e 2010 Global Relocation Trends Survey by Brookfield Global Relocation Services in Woodridge, IL. That's the lowest number since 2001, when just 16% on international assignees were women.
HR executives, female expats and industry experts pin the falling numbers on a wide range of issues---from family and spousal concerns to the fact that the economic downturn has led to fewer developmental relocation opportunities for younger women. Fewer women will accept assignments because they cannot afford to lose their spouse's income or may not want to stunt the development of a spouse's career. The lack women sent to other countries hurts leadership development and, eventually, leads to a lack of female senior leaders; since relocation is such a vital developmental tool.
Andrea Martins, director of www.ExpatWomen.com, a site dedicated to helping women living in foreign countries, says problems concerning spouses also run plentry deeper than money. Trailing spouses can suffer a loss of identity when living in a foreign country and not working. "The men I meet who are [trailing spouses] usually seem to suffer this loss of identity harder [than women], as there are very few support groups for men, like there are for women," says Martins, whose site serves 10,000 members living in 180 countries.
In fact, spouse dissatisfaction is the No. 1 reason that assignments fail, according to the Brookfield study--and with the considerable expense attached to international assignments, keeping spouses happy (whether husbands or wives) should be paramount.
Refusals from female expats are not only factors driving the numbers down; companies have also been shying away from sending women abroad. Companies want to send employees overseas who have experience as business managers or who have start-up skills, says Jo Rust, director of international consulting services at Cartus, a Danbury, CT-based global relocation management firm. And that is a demographic still dominated by men, she says.
In fact, just 14.4% of executive officer positions were held by women, according to two studies released in December by Catalyst Inc., the New York-based membership organization promoting inclusive workplaces. Considering that these positions are the ones most likely to be relocated, and there are fewer women in those positions, it drove the number of women assignees down.
If companies continue to have such a disparity in relocation, the gender disparity widely seen in the senior executive ranks will also continue.
Source: Human Resource Executive, January 2011
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