Female expatriates: towards a more inclusive view

Hutchings, Kate; Michailova, Snejina

doi:10.4337/9781784718183.00022

Cited by 15 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…While women form a significant part of the global workforce, they are largely under-represented in many expatriate work environments (Hutchings et al, 2013; Hutchings and Michailova, 2017; Varma and Russell, 2016). Gender stereotypes and perceptions about women’s choices and expectations have been linked to this under-representation, for example, that women are less motivated to expatriate than men, that they are not provided the same organizational support as their male counterparts and that they struggle to adjust to host environments (Adler, 1984; Altman and Shortland, 2008; Andresen et al, 2015; Caligiuri and Lazarova, 2002; Shortland, 2009).…”

Section: Expatriate Workers In the Gcc: The Role Of Gendered Institutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing privilege and disadvantage: Lessons from women expatriates in the Middle East

Rodríguez

Ridgway

2018

Organization

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This article explores how the simultaneity of privilege and disadvantage shapes the experiences of women expatriates in the Middle East. The article problematizes the simultaneity of being an elite group (e.g. expatriates) and a disadvantaged group (e.g. women) within the context of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Drawing on the literature about women and work expatriation, the article analyses the narratives of women expatriates to highlight the complexity and multidimensionality of their experiences, positioning the discussion within the framework of gendered institutions. The article concludes that privilege and disadvantage are inseparable to the way the experiences of women expatriates unfold in the Middle East, and that institutional settings articulate this inseparability in order to regulate and help to maintain the gender social order. The article contributes a nuanced understanding of the experiences of women expatriates, challenging dominant views that present this group as generally privileged by virtue of their skilled and mobile status.

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Section: Expatriate Workers In the Gcc: The Role Of Gendered Institutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing privilege and disadvantage: Lessons from women expatriates in the Middle East

Rodríguez

Ridgway

2018

Organization

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“…Furthermore, in order to increase the chances of continued commitment and successful expatriation of low‐status expats, this research has underlined the significance of age and education level; thus, selection and recruitment of expatriates from developing countries should give priority to mature and highly educated expats who have the tenacity to overcome some of the challenges that are linked to their status. We conclude by highlighting the need for researchers in the field of expat management to develop theoretical lens that would be used to address the challenges faced by different types of expats as it has been seen that each type faces different kinds of challenges and having theories covering these challenges would be a step in handling them (Jones, ; McPhail, McNulty, & Hutchings, ). As for the case of low‐status expats, we attempt to understand them using social identity theory by providing strong empirical evidence indicating the effect that change in identity has on their attitude (Reicher et al, ).…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By using the assumptions developed in social identity theory, this study attempts to understand the effects of the aforementioned stereotyping and categorization on expatriates' ability to adapt and remain committed to their international assignments. In order to examine the effects of stereotyping, the conceptual use of perceived prejudice from the expatriate's perspective is proposed as found in previous studies (Hutchings & Michailova, ). We then investigate the effects it has on expatriate's self‐esteem and by extension their work attitudes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do identity and status matter? A social identity theory perspective on the adaptability of low‐status expatriates

Sunguh

Abbas

Olabode

et al. 2019

Journal of Public Affairs

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The study aims to investigate the effect of identify and status in the field of global mobility and expatriate management. It conceptualizes perceived prejudice towards low‐status expatriates (LSE) though the social identity theory (SIT) lens and examines the effect it has on two state self‐esteem domains, that is, performance self‐esteem and social self‐esteem. The study also highlights that the moderation roles education level and age of expatriates play towards their adaptability. In doing so, it seeks to expand the expatriate management domain by investigating the negative side associated with expatriation. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze responses from 373 LSE working in China. The results provide evidence indicating the significance attached to status and identity, thus indicating that perceived prejudice significantly affects expatriate's self‐esteem negatively and that age and education level mitigate these effects by moderating the relationship. Age and education level attained by the expatriates are found to be significant moderators in this relationship. The study therefore proposes the use of SIT as a powerful theoretical lens for understanding LSE.

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“…Women expatriates are highly underrepresented across all industries (Santa Fé Relocation, 2019), including the masculine sectors of oil and gas where fewer than 15 % of the expatriates are female (Shortland and Porter, 2020). Although there has been an increasing level of interest in analyzing the reasons why women are not appointed to IAs (for reviews see Altman and Shortland, 2008;Hutchings and Michailova, 2017;Salamin and Hanappi, 2014;Shortland, 2014a;2014b), very little attention has been paid to its recursive consequences, one of which -as we argue in this paper -is the lack of career advancement for women. One reason for this is that studies generally take a static approach, which documents why women are not internationally assigned, but does not address the medium and long-term systemic consequences of women's underrepresentation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is true for traditional forms of international work, i.e. long-term, company-initiated assignments (Altman and Shortland, 2008; Hutchings and Michailova, 2014, 2017), but also for more flexible forms of international work, such as short term, project-based and frequent flyer assignments (Mäkelä et al , 2015; Puchmüller and Fischlmayr, 2017), although for self-initiated expatriation (Andresen et al , 2015) women are more evenly represented (Vance and McNulty, 2014). Women expatriates are highly underrepresented across all industries (Santa Fé Relocation, 2021), including the masculine sectors of oil and gas where fewer than 15% of the expatriates are female (Shortland and Porter, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No room at the top? A system dynamics view of the recursive consequences of women's underrepresentation in international assignments

Domínguez

Pinto

Harzing

2021

JGM

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PurposeThe expatriation literature has developed an insightful body of research on the reasons why women are not assigned abroad as frequently as men. However, the authors know very little about the systemic and recursive consequences of women's underrepresentation in international assignments (IAs), which are examined in this conceptual paper.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon expatriation research and a system dynamics perspective, the authors propose a conceptual model to explain both women's underrepresentation in IAs and its recursive consequences.FindingsThe authors highlight how women's underrepresentation in IAs results from a complex system of recursive effects that jeopardizes women's professional development and undermines both their own career progression to top management and firms' competitive advantage and international growth. The authors argue that organizations make decisions that contravene their own interest in a competitive global context. First is that they are limiting their talent pool by not considering female candidates. Second is that they are missing the opportunity to use IAs to advance women's careers.Research limitations/implicationsThe model provides a solid grounding for future research on selecting the most effective organizational actions and designing supportive measures to disrupt the persistent dynamics contributing to women's underrepresentation in IAs. Future research could also expand our study by incorporating individual differences and the proactive role that women may take.Practical implicationsThe model points to specific managerial interventions (e.g. increased access to job training and specific training ahead of the assignment, dual-career support, women's mentoring and affirmative action) which have the potential to reduce women's underrepresentation in IAs and in top management.Originality/valueThe system dynamics approach enables a broader understanding of why women are underrepresented in IAs, how this underrepresentation further exacerbates gender segregation in international business, and how these recursive outcomes can be averted to the advantage of firms' sustainable growth.

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Female expatriates: towards a more inclusive view

Cited by 15 publications

References 64 publications

Contextualizing privilege and disadvantage: Lessons from women expatriates in the Middle East

Contextualizing privilege and disadvantage: Lessons from women expatriates in the Middle East

Do identity and status matter? A social identity theory perspective on the adaptability of low‐status expatriates

No room at the top? A system dynamics view of the recursive consequences of women's underrepresentation in international assignments

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