The Female and the Male Professional: Gender, Career and Expatriation Interfaces in Trajectory for Female Expatriates

Abstract

While the organizational world has been experiencing the phenomenon of expatriation, the availability of mobile and international careers stand out. The differences in the expatriate experience are gendered, and few studies focus primarily on the experiences of women. This research aims to analyze the construction of the career trajectories of 19 Brazilian expatriate women, using as conceptual bases the interfaces of gender, career, and expatriation. The experiences of the participants come near to each other but compose unique trajectories, including in their personal life and professional field. The study highlights a way of being and acting in the work environment, understood as "the" model of a professional woman expatriate, who intercalates elements perceived as masculine and/or feminine. The construction of this trajectory is anchored by elements that build and influence it: personal characteristics, support and family influence, affective relationships, motherhood, professional plans and organizations in which they work, and countries of destination. With the results, possible paths are envisioned for other women seeking this experience, considering the foregrounded implications shown by this study.

Os desafios enfrentados no desenvolvimento da carreira das mulheres de diferentes gerações

“…O relato evidencia que, como a maioria das organizações foi criada por homens e para homens (Oliveira et al, 2009), as masculinidades acabam sendo privilegiadas. As mulheres, ao se adaptarem a esse contexto, não percebem que estão reproduzindo um discurso que privilegia as masculinidades (Eccel & Grisci, 2011;Fraga et al, 2020), como no caso exemplificado em que os homens têm o privilégio de ganhar licença para fazer o doutorado antes das mulheres.…”

“…Para que as mulheres mantenham-se nas organizações, elas têm que se submeter a estruturas com ideais masculinos e, consequentemente, reproduzi-las (Fraga, Antunes, Rocha-De-Oliveira, 2020). Algumas mulheres sequer notam o preconceito e acabam legitimando esse padrão, visto que alguns estereótipos masculinos estão tão enraizados culturalmente que, por vezes, as vítimas não percebem a própria inserção em um ambiente preconceituoso (Carvalho Neto et al, 2010;Hryniewicz & Vianna, 2018).…”

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

“…As for sex-role stereotyping, the “masculine nature” of IAs has been well documented (Bader et al , 2018; Fischlmayr and Puchmüller, 2016; Fraga et al , 2020; Harris, 2002; Koveshnikov et al , 2019; Vance et al , 2006), being even more evident in male-dominated industries such as mining (Shortland, 2009) or oil and gas (Shortland and Porter, 2020). The rejection of women expatriates by foreign employees has been implicitly assumed (Vance and Paik, 2001), so gender stereotypes result in selection biases, based on the assumption that women are less willing to take on IAs or must be denied IAs because of concerns for safety or loneliness (Harris 2001, 2002; Hutchings et al , 2012; Insch et al , 2008; Paik and Vance, 2002; Tharenou, 2010; Vance and Paik, 2001; Varma et al , 2006).…”

“…In turn, the higher the number of women expatriates, the higher the number of women available as mentors and role models for other women, ultimately leading to more women having the required skills to be appointed to managerial boards (Harvey et al , 2017). In a recent study among Brazilian women expatriates (Fraga et al , 2020, p. 205) participants stressed that “they were pioneers in expatriation, and only because of them the doors were opened for the others”. Consequently, the virtuous loop would be reignited (S2d).…”

The meanings of work and masculinity: a study with military police officers

“…Based on the concept that organizational structures reflect masculinities that privilege the individuals who reproduce them (Eccel and Grisci, 2011;Fraga et al, 2020), the objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between conceptions of masculinity and the meanings of work for military police officers. The current studies on the meanings of work for military police officers are associated with the aspects of disability acquired in the undertaking of this work (Lopes and Leite, 2015), experiences of pleasure and suffering (Winter and Alf, 2019;Cunha and Ghizoni, 2018), and the risks of becoming ill at work (Ferreira et al, 2017).…”