Female Expatriates Working for Multinational Corporations in Taiwan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

According to international management literature, international assignments have been a dominated research topic in human resource management (HRM) for the past three decades. While HRM has significantly expanded its role in recent years, expatriation remains a critical concern (Collings, Scullion and Morley (2007, 198).

The purpose of the following report is to critically analyse the issues presented by Rueyling Tzeng (2006) in "Gender issues and family concerns for women with international careers". Specifically, this critique will examine how female expatriates face gender stereotyping and discrimination in their home and host countries and how they reconcile their conflicts between home and work. To add, the mentioned issues will be critiqued against other academic literature from electronic journals, namely Proquest, Emerald Insight, Science Direct and Wiley Online, and finally, a conclusion will be drawn regarding the credibility of the literature and the information it presents.

In analysing the article, it was found that female expatriates encounter many obstacles when wanting to pursue international careers; the 'glass ceiling', concerns regarding females physical safety in foreign countries; gender prejudices, and, dual career-marriages and family relationships are experienced. It was also found that female expatriates are faced with extreme gender issues in their home country, however, it is the non-Caucasian female expatriates who also encounter ethnic discrimination in the host country. Finally, majority of female expatriates found that reconciliation between their career and families was a major concern for them, especially regarding child raising.

Throughout the critiquing process of the article, limitations were also identified. Tzeng (2006) based his study on the responses of only twenty-one female expatriates in Western multinational corporations in Taiwan. With this sample being relatively low and focussing on a specific country, the credibility of Tzeng's article was questioned especially compared to other qualitative literature.

INTRODUCTION

International assignments have become increasingly popular in today's global economy due to the internationalisation of markets, world-wide competition and the ever-so-frequent advancements in technology. Furthermore, organisations have reconciled that the only way to meet the demands of contemporary globalisation is through the process of expatriation (Cole and McNulty 2011, 144).

While expatriate assignments can be viewed as an opportunity to live in a foreign country, many employees identify the career advantages, salary increases and managerial appointments attached to international work ((Tzeng 2006, 377). This said, there are various factors that influence the selection of assignees. Specifically, inequalities relating to gender discrimination and race exist, both in the home and host country (Makela, Suutari and Mayerhofer 2011, 257). Moreover, research has proven that organisations are more inclined to send males on overseas assignments; the expatriation process for men contrasts significantly to that of women as the latter are generally more receptive to family constraints due to their unique family responsibilities and roles (Tharenou 2008, 186). It can therefore be said that while females willingly want to take advantage of such an opportunity and are increasingly expressing their commitment to management, they are less likely to be selected for an international assignment due to 'blocked opportunities' (Tzeng 2006, 379) and a common perception that women are less likely to succeed abroad (Makela, Suutari and Mayerhofer 2011, 257).

The purpose of the following report is to provide a balanced, yet critical analysis of the international human resources management (IHRM) issues that are identified and explored by Rueyling Tzeng in "Gender issues and family concerns for women with international careers", an article focusing on female expatriates working for Western multinational corporations in Taiwan. Specifically, this report will examine issues concerning the barriers women encounter when wanting to work overseas; various gender issues that women experience both in their home and host

country; and, the issues that arise when marriage and child raising conflict with women wanting pursuing international careers. The above issues will be critiqued and analysed against other qualitative research and relevant academic literature. The following will also discuss the relevance and importance of the article to IHRM.

2.0 ISSUES

2.1 Barriers for women wanting to work overseas

Expatriation for many women is a life-changing and exhilarating experience, however, managers recognise and also impose many barriers for women who want to pursue international careers. Empirical research suggests that women who work for multinational corporations are unsuccessful in securing overseas postings due to, a glass ceiling (Linehan and Scullion 2001, 394), "a barrier that is so subtle that it is transparent, yet so strong that it prevents women and minorities from moving up the managerial hierarchy" (Morrison and Von Glinow 1990, 200); concerns regarding their physical safety in foreign, specifically undeveloped countries; extreme gender prejudices focussing on the assumption that females are unlikely to succeed in cultures where it is not customary for females to work or where male subordinates refuse to follow her leadership (Gruys, Stewart and Patel 2010, 530); dual-career marriages and family responsibilities (Fischlmayr and Kollinger 2010, 456); and, the concerns that arise regarding women's ability to cope with feelings of loneliness and isolation Makela, Suuatri and Mayerhofer (2011, 257).

After a comprehensive review of the various literature, it is evident that each does indeed support one another leaving one to believe that the barriers women encounter when wanting to work overseas is common amongst females working for multinational corporations, world-wide. While this may be the case, one can raise the following question, 'How credible is the literature in determining the barriers that exist for women who want to pursue an international career and how do readers know that the information presented is reliable?' To answer this question, a study was conducted by Makela, Suuatri and Mayerhofer (2011) who examined the responses of twenty female expatriates working in various industries when asked open-ended questions relating to the barriers they initially faced when pursing an overseas posting. A study was also conducted by