Shelley Wheeler, who works for a multinational energy company, had been putting herself forward for an expatriate role for several years before she finally got a posting.

"I think it was difficult for people to 'hear' my request," Wheeler says.

"Decision-makers make assumptions as to what they think the best sort of assignment for someone would be. When they move that framework over to women they tend to eliminate certain jobs because of the locations they are in and assume they are either too dangerous or difficult," she says.

Now from her base in Dubai, Wheeler focuses on doing business in Kazakhstan.

After five months in her new role, she hasn't met any real problems due to being a woman in her early 30s in a traditionally male-dominated industry and culture.

Wheeler explains that when her company is dealing with local business contacts it is not usual that anybody goes alone. "Because I am the only woman on the team, inevitably it is a male colleague who goes with me."

Cultural barriers

So how would Wheeler deal with men who found her gender to be an issue on the business floor? "I think it is always a matter of context," she says

"If I am the decision-maker in the room, and the men I am doing business with constantly address a male colleague, then, if it is necessary for the successful outcome of that meeting, I slowly make the other side aware that I am the person they need to refer to."

Intercultural trainer Dean Foster has observed that, depending upon the degree to which a culture has been involved in the process of globalisation, "foreign businesswomen are seen firstly as business people, secondly as representatives of their culture, and thirdly as women."

According to Foster, values or belief systems haven't changed. "In the global business environment familiarity has bred, in addition to contempt, a set of behaviours that at least acknowledges differences," he says.

London-based Rosalyn Rahme (45) has worked for 20 years in executive research. She is a board member of four companies and has extensive international top level business experience.

Rahme, who is half Lebanese, knows from first-hand experience that there are cultural barriers to doing business in the EMEA region - especially in the oil, gas and automotives industries.

"They will not do business with you in the way they would with a man," she says.

Especially in the Middle East, "boys have to be boys and girls to be girls. You've got to play along with it. If you are able return the banter of these men, but still be respectful you will get their respect," she says, noting that women need to be "very mature" in their behaviour to carry this off.

But cultural barriers and companies' attitudes alone don't explain why, on average, only 12 to 16 percent of international assignees are women.

Family ties

Rahme describes a recent HR position which she was charged to fill as requiring regular travel to Dubai and Africa. "My client pointed out that it would be very unlikely that a woman will be attracted to this role, not only because of the countries that she would be visiting, but also due to the amount of travel involved."

S. Padmanabahn, executive vice president and global head of HR for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS), Bangalore, India, which boasts a large internationally mobile workforce, admits that the women within TCS are not quite as mobile as men, although this is changing.

"It is cultural attitudes toward the role of women in child-rearing and family life which play a role in this shortfall as women move through different life stages," he says in a recent article in Mobility Magazine.

To help balance career and family needs, TCS is increasingly sending women on short-term assignments.

Traces of the past

Christopher Clarke, president and chief executive of Boydon global executive search, agrees that it is more difficult for women to take the expat route than for men. The paradox is that women have the qualities companies need to succeed in business today.

The basis of his argument hinges on evolutionary psychology, an increasingly powerful movement among psychologists today, which is essentially the study of how our minds have evolved, and the traces left by that evolution.

"If we go to hunter gatherer societies, which are essentially the genetic result of ten thousand years ago, we haven't evolved that much since," says Clarke, pointing out that society in fact is evolving faster than we are.

"Women are by necessity good at child-bearing and looking after the relationships in the family, but they are also skilled at trading.  In developing societies, women do the trading at the markets — a strong commercial skill has evolved."

In ancient societies Clarke explains, "the guys were out hunting and banding together and cooperating to make sure they led the group and to keep out outsiders. You still see this kind of male bonding in board rooms and companies today."

We are moving into a period where couples have to care for a wider range of things and Clarke feels that companies need a better understanding of relationships and wider management through teams rather than through dominant male hierarchies.

"Women care about relationships a lot more than men do, which makes them better at management because they are better at recognising emotions, voracity and other people's needs," says Clarke, which he believes, on average, makes women better at working in teams.

But, on the other hand, "it is generally more difficult for a female to sever the relationships she's established and take-off for another country," he says.

The trailing male

Another issue is when the accompanying spouse is a man.

"On average, the male is the person in the highest position in society and it gets much more difficult to get the guy to follow the woman as the trailing spouse," says Clarke

"In many countries it is more difficult for female expats because they may have to accommodate their males' egos. In male-dominated societies, the trailing male spouse does not want to feel inadequate."

Some couples, however, still manage to take this 'role reversal' in their stride.

Shelley Wheeler moved to Dubai with her husband at a stage when both their careers were going well.  However, in this case, both Wheeler and her partner, who works in the IT sector, were confident that he could find work.

"Dubai is a good location for IT; we thought this could be a good opportunity for us as a couple," says Wheeler, whose partner hasn't secured a firm offer yet. "I really respect that he is willing to take this risk for the benefit of both of our careers and I am not necessarily looking forward to it being my turn."

Cutting the ropes

So what are companies doing to help get more women out on an international career path?

Recruitment specialist Rosalyn Rahme feels companies that encourage women are still far too few. She cites Shell as an exception.  "They have a fantastic matriarchic influence down through the company."

Deloitte is another large company which actively encourages the development of women's careers.

Hélène Ratte, EMEA HR Partner for Deloitte, who initiated Deloitte's 'Women in the workforce' programme, underlines that when selecting an employee for a posting, "First and foremost, we find the person qualified to fit the clients' needs and then HR ensures that qualified women are part of those short-listed for the assignment."

Ratte is aware that when she sends someone to the Middle East they have to be able to cope with the cultural complexity. When she feels a woman candidate is suitable for the job, she builds up the case to make sure the candidate is accepted.

The case could go along the lines of, "I have a woman candidate. She's been exposed to the Arab world. She's of Arab descent. She's been in tough situations." Ratte also offers solid examples of the candidate's suitability for the role.

She notes that the number of women in the younger generation is much greater than the fifty plus generation.  "You need to bring these women up," she says, explaining that having successful female role models, such as women board members, helps bring about change.

"Of course it helps women to go on assignment for their career paths—like anyone else," says Ratte, who as a successful career woman in her early fifties, is a role model herself.

How women can help themselves

Shelley Wheeler feels that women who want to go on assignment can do a lot to help themselves. She advises identifying the type of skills needed for the job they want and then going for it.

"I started learning Russian as this was specific to the role in Kazakhstan. It was a matter of demonstrating that I really wanted the job and letting people see that," says Wheeler, who recommends that women follow the expat route if they can.

"I love it. You get so much learning from a change in the cultural environment. It is a great way of developing as well as being essential for my career in the energy business."