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Given the historical scarcity of local women managers in most countries, most organizations question if women can succeed in international assignments. Employers base their reasoning on three assumptions:
* Women do not want to be international managers. * Companies refuse to send women abroad. * Foreigners' prejudice against women renders them ineffective, although many women are interested in international assignments and are successful when sent.
These assumptions cause HR managers and line executives to make decisions that are neither effective nor equitable. In our research, we labeled these beliefs as "myths" because, although widely believed by both men and women, no one knew whether they were true or false.
MYTH 1: WOMEN DO NOT WANT TO BE INTERNATIONAL MANAGERS
Is the problem that women are less interested than men in international careers? We tested this myth by surveying more than 1,000 graduating MBAs. The results revealed an overwhelming case of "no significant difference;" female and male MBAs display equal interest in pursuing international careers. More than four out of five MBAs both women and men) want an international assignment at some time during their career.
MYTH 2: COMPANIES REFUSE TO SEND WOMEN ABROAD
To see if the myth of corporate resistance was true, we interviewed human resource vice presidents and managers from many of the largest North American companies. More than half of the companies surveyed do hesitate to send women abroad.
Almost four times as many firms are reluctant to select women for international assignments are hesitant to promote women into domestic management positions. When asked why they hesitate, almost three-quarters report that foreigners are so prejudiced against women that the women managers could not succeed even if sent, Similarly, 70 percent foreigners are so prejudiced against believe that dual-career issues are insurmountable. Some survey respondents also expressed concern about the women's physical safety, the hazards involved in travel in underdeveloped countries and, especially in the case of single women, the isolation and loneliness.
Many women expatriate managers report that they had to overcome corporate resistance. Following are some examples of female expatriate experiences:
"Management assumed that women didn't have the physical stamina to survive in the tropics. They claimed I couldn't hack it."--MALAYSIA
"My company didn't want to send a woman to that...