Think international manager, think male: Why are women not selected for international management assignments?

Abstract

Executive SummaryStudies of women in international management originating primarily from North America consistently highlight the lack of women in such positions. This trend continues despite the need for growing numbers of expatriates. Explanations for this phenomenon have centered on women's personal characteristics, home/family circumstances, organizational support, and host country nationals' attitudes. This study examines the status of women in international management from a United Kingdom (UK) perspective. A key finding arising from the study is the critical influence of selection systems for international assignments where the predominant use of closed, informal selection processes for international assignments was seen to create unintended gender bias in recruitment. is Director of the Centre for Research into the Management of Expatriation (CReME). Dr. Harris has extensive experience as a HR practitioner with organizations in the security, engineering, and computing sectors.

Fostering longevity attitudes in women expatriates: the role of general and targeted types of organizational support

“…Prior scholarship shows that institutional barriers and discrimination against women expatriates remain widespread (Bader, Stoermer, Bader, & Schuster, 2018), negatively impacting the selection and retention of women expatriates. First, the selection systems for expatriates are often informal and subjective (Linehan & Scullion, 2001), leading staffing decisions to be particularly susceptible to biases (Harris, 2002). Exacerbating Notes.…”

The challenge of international human resource management: balancing the duality of strategy and practice

“…De Cieri et al, 1991;Riusala and Suutari, 2000;Stephens and Black, 1991), the importance of involving the family in selection and training (e.g. Forster, 2000;Tung, 1982), and issues associated with women expatriates (Adler, 2002;Harris, 2002;Linehan and Walsh, 1999). In addition to the research on generalist preparation, a body of literature has grown around preparation for specific cultural environments (see, for instance, Hutchings and Murray, 2002;Tung and Worm, 2001).…”

The increasing complexity of the internationally mobile professional

“…The research agenda for the long-term IA has developed in recent years and now includes increasing work on dual career families, spousal adjustment and so on (Harris, 2002;Harvey and Buckley, 1998;Punnett, 1997;Riusala and Suutari, 2000). However, other types of international assignment can have a significant impact on work-family balance (Mayerhofer et al, 2004).…”