More women are being sent on international assignments than ever before, especially in Asia-Pacific, but they are far less likely to be accompanied by a partner than male assignees.

12 October 2006

AMSTERDAM - More women are being sent on international assignments than ever before, especially in Asia-Pacific, but they are far less likely to be accompanied by a partner than male assignees. 

A global survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, covering over 100 multinational companies with nearly 17,000 male and female international assignees also finds that companies in Asia-Pacific have 16 times more females on assignment this year than they did in 2001.

Companies in North America have nearly four times as many while those in Europe have over twice as many.

"The huge growth in the number of females sent on assignment by Asia-Pacific companies reflects the fact that businesses in this region, particularly in China, are becoming increasingly global," said Mercer's Yvonne Sonsino.

Over half of the companies surveyed expect the number of female assignees to continue to increase steadily over the next five years, while 35 percent believe the number will remain the same. Just 4 percent believe it will decline.

"Going on expatriate placements can be an important step on the career ladder, and women are increasingly interested in taking these assignments. Yet many companies' policies are outdated and do not reflect the changing profile of their expatriates, so assignees' requirements are dealt with on a case-by-case basis," said Sonsino.

Though the companies surveyed generally do not have separate policies for female expatriates, the study found some differentiation in the treatment of male and female assignees. For example, 15 percent of companies said they would not send women to hardship locations such as the Middle East.

The survey shows that female expatriates are more likely than males to leave their partners at home when on assignment.

While 57 percent of companies said the majority of their male assignees are accompanied by a partner, just 16 percent said most of their female expatriates are.

Female expatriates are also less likely than their male counterparts to have a partner prior to going on assignment. While 74 percent of companies said the majority of their male assignees had partners before going on assignment, only 25 percent of companies said this was the case amongst female expatriates.

"Studies suggest partners of successful women also tend to have high-powered careers. When a woman is offered an international assignment, their partner may be less willing to make career concessions to accompany them," said Sonsino, who points out that lack of effort by companies to help the partner find a job at the new location contributes to the situation.

As many as two-thirds of participating companies - 66 percent - provide no incentives or support to help partners settle in the host location, reports Mercer. 

Where support is available, it is usually only given when specifically requested. For example, only 7 percent of companies offer partners information on the local job market, though 37 percent said they would provide it if asked. 

"An unhappy spouse can often cause an assignment to fail, so not spending money on support services can be a false economy for companies. While integrating partners into the local community may take time and money, it can ultimately pay off," said Ms Sonsino.

In the survey, 12 percent of companies said they have female expatriates who are single parents, yet only 4 percent provide additional support to this group of assignees.

"Expatriate programmes are simply not designed to cope with providing support for single parents. There is an increasing need for companies to update their policies in this area," said Sonsino.

[Copyright Expatica news 2006]