The workplace gender gap is widest in expatriate communities and women are being overlooked for overseas appointments, according to new research.
A study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Melbourne University’s Centre for Ethical Leadership shows that although the majority of women want to work overseas, only one in four Australian women get the opportunity to do so.
The survey, which examined numbers and demographics of overseas appointments as well as reasons for offering, accepting and declining these appointments, found that seven out of ten women wanted to be placed overseas with their company. The majority were either not being considered for the roles or declining them upon offer.
“We have made so much progress in some aspects of gender equality at work but in this, we have made no progress at all. In fact, the number of female expats declined between 2013 and 2014. We have no positive momentum we can tap into,” PwC partner Jonathan Dunlea told Women’s Agenda.
“Overseas appointments are crucial for women’s career development but the gender imbalance in these processes continues to be overlooked.”
So what is holding women back?
The research shows there are several barriers to entry when it comes to women and overseas postings. The first is the processes by which human resources professionals and managers choose employees for the role – the data shows that the majority of overseas roles are filled by informal connections and networking, or the employee directly requesting the appointment from a manager.
This lack of a formal, regulated hiring process for overseas appointments disadvantages women, who are less likely to ask for a role directly and also less likely to have strong, informal networks and communication that allow them to get these appointments.
“A lot of organisations we spoke to felt confident they were using fair, regulated, formal hiring processes to make overseas appointments but then when we interviewed expats, we found that only 10% were connected with their appointments through formal procedures,” Dunlea said.
“This means that 90% had found their roles through informal networks, which is where the biases creep in. We also know that men tend to have stronger social and informal networks within their business than women, meaning they are more likely to get appointed through these channels.”
On top of this, when managers do directly consider women for overseas appointments, research shows that assumptions about women’s preferences stand in the way of their being chosen.
PwC’s data shows that managers in both the home country and host country believe women are not as available or willing to take roles overseas, largely because of assumptions about family commitments. This assumption is not supported by evidence, given that 69% of women actively seek overseas appointments and 63% consider an overseas appointment crucial to their career progression. These assumptions at management level, however, often lead to these willing and available women being overlooked.
“These assumptions are simply not borne out in the data. We found that women and men are equally likely to consider the impact of overseas appointments on their spouse and family as women are. So this perception that women opt out of assignments because of family commitments more than men is simply untrue,” Dunlea said.
When women do get offered overseas roles, still more factors come into play and can force them to decline. One of these is a lack of female role models in the expatriate community in their destination – with so few women working overseas, women at home feel they will not be adequately supported if they do take the leap.
“A lack of role models was a huge factor for most of the women we spoke to. We really encourage organisations to focus on building female networks and championing their female leaders how have worked overseas,” Dunlea said.
“Companies need to arrange coaching and mentoring programs between female expats and potential female expats, both in the home and the host country.”
The study also shows that women become less and less likely to be offered and to accept overseas assignments the older they get. 40% of female expatriate workers are in their 30s; by the time they are in their 50s, they constitute only 10% of the group.
So what can businesses do to fix the problem?
PwC’s research recommends a series of steps businesses can take to better engage women in the global mobility market. The first is starting early – businesses need to identify talented junior women early in their careers and begin offering them short-term overseas assignments. This gives female employees experience and encourages them to continue to put themselves forward for more opportunities in the future.
The second is a heightened focus on female engagement in their roles at home – the study shows that women who are more engaged with the company are more likely to accept overseas appointments in spite of the perceived barriers.
Another is to focus on the barriers related to family life and spousal satisfaction. According to PwC, women’s engagement in the global market could be boosted by developing programs designed to accommodate dual career couples.
Dunlea said the process of correcting this imbalance will not be easy, but it is possible with strong commitment from organisations.
“This problem is entrenched and it will not fix itself. We need commitment from all levels of business to help address this gender gap,” Dunlea said.
Have you ever worked overseas or been offered an appointment you had to turn down? We’d love to hear from you.