I am an experienced and accomplished academic researcher and writer, having recently graduated at the top of the class from a well regarded business school, with a distinction MSc in Business Management. I previously studied for an undergraduate social science degree.

My range of knowledge is broad and I can write to an excellent standard on a whole range of business disciplines including, Human Resource Management, Management, Operations Management, Issues in International Management, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Management.

I have an ability to comprehend tasks, to competently complete them and able to clearly articulate information. My writing and analytical skills are my strongest suits, as demonstrated by my track record at university, where I regularly achieved grades of over 70 and 80 percent. I have a formidable work ethic, I never settle for doing anything at less than the required standard and I have a track record of always delivering fully on tasks and objectives within set deadlines.

Lastly, I have a passion for reading, learning, writing, exceeding targets and for offering outstanding service to you the customer.

• Familiarity with independent multitasking and working to set deadlines.
• Excellent literacy skills as demonstrated by my track record at university, where I regularly gained grades of over 70 and even 80 percent.
• Ability to comprehend tasks, to competently complete them and able to clearly articulate information.
• First-rate quantitative and qualitative analytical and evaluative skills, honed over the course of two social science degrees. These skills enable swift and accurate analysis of situations, which in turn enhances opportunities to anticipate and meet demands.

Addressing the under-representation of females international assignees.

In 2008, in the context of the knowledge economy, the idea that business is a people business has ever enhancing resonance. Organisations are reliant on high quality cerebral input and the talented employees that offer this input. Obviously this talent is highly sought after, as employing and allocating the best people is strategically paramount. This argument carries even greater weight in the domain of international business. Due to the relatively high failure rate of international assignments, it is increasingly vital to utilize the best people for the job. The difficulty is that there is a small pool of suitable candidates for international assignments; who often need to be bilingual, experienced and have specialist skills (Financial Times, 2008). The pool of suitable candidates for overseas assignments, is made even smaller by the significant female under-representation. In 2007, 50% of graduates were female, while worryingly only 21% of international assignees were female. There seems to be a process in which women are being filtered out of international business, which is concerning (Smerd, 2007) (Financial Times, 2007).

In relation to these issues and figures, the assignment is a subjective and critical assessment of the gender imbalance that pervades within the environment of international business. It is broken down into two parts, there are several perspectives to consider when examining the under-representation of women on international assignment, however to increase the scope would force a dilution of argument. The first part focuses on the considerable amount of discord concerning the causes of gender disparity in expatriate assignments that exists within the academic literature. The secondary focus has a broader scope, as well as critically assessing the effects of female under-representation on international arena for both employee and employer; there is also a look at the benefits of increasing female numbers and some of the solutions to do this. The methodology has been to include case studies from the south-east Asian context, not only because much of the empirical research has been conducted there, but also to give the assignment a more defined focus. Therefore many of the conclusions have been drawn in specific reference to the south-east Asian area. Addressing the under-representation of women on international multinational corporation assignments should continue to be a central concern of international business management practitioners. Rectifying the disparity will increase the pool of talented employees capable of working on overseas assignment. Indeed, Darryl Green president of Asia-Pacific operations at Manpower states that the gender landscape is changing and that if organisations exploit this changing landscape, they can get a comparatively better talent pool and consequently the best people who would have the most chance of succeeding (Financial Times, 2008).

Over the past two decades Adler (1986, 1987, 1993) has been seminal in the development of academic debate, on the issues surrounding female international assignees. One of the main thrusts of her continuous investigation, focuses on how international staffing decisions in the past, have been taken with the understanding that women largely do not seek international careers, much of her argument is centred on disproving this as a myth. Lowe et al. (1999) focus on the same issue from an improved perspective to Adler (1986, 1987, 1993). Lowe et al. (1999) examined the relationship between gender and willingness to accept overseas relocation to specific countries. This differed from Adler’s (1986, 1987, 1993) methodology of allowing respondents to conjecture an ideal relocation destination, which apart from being highly unlikely to happen in practice, was likely to have distorted results. The argument of Lowe et al., (1999) is stronger than the argument of Adler (1986, 1987, 1993) because it is based on results gained from a more proficient methodology of choosing specific countries.

In direct contrast to Adler (1986, 1987, 1993) Lowe et al. (1999) maintains that males and females consistently show not only different preferences to work in specific countries. There were specific gender variances in 36 out of 41 countries and the most sizeable differences in results were found in willingness to relocate to Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Respondents also exhibited significant overall gender variances in willingness to accept assignments in situations where countries are specified. From this it is fair to surmise; that gender is one of the factors contributing to the willingness of employees to accept overseas assignments. The work of Lowe et al, (1999) is worth bearing in mind for any MNC wishing to implement a program of diversity, because it illustrates the ease or difficulty of attracting females to specific countries. Summarily, the research suggests that females contribute to female under-representation on international assignments, because they are more reluctant than men to relocate to locations that are not ideal to them.

Another of Adler’s (1986, 1987, 1993) contentions is that many host countries do not wish to do business with women. In a case study in Hong Kong, it was found that as long as females were perceived as competent managers appointed by parent companies, gender was not a significant issue for the host country employees (Westwood & Leung, 1994). Indeed, in a research study of American female expatriates in Japan and South Korea, Adler (1987) ascertained that Asian businessmen see female expatriates firstly as a company representative, second as a foreigner and thirdly as a woman. She contends that female managers experienced no discriminatory behaviour and that much of what is believed about the treatment of women on international assignment is a myth. Jelinek & Adler (1988) have a comparable argument, as they maintain that host country attitudes towards women should be a non-issue when allocating expatriate assignments. As research has shown that the treatment of local women is not a good indicator of how a female expatriate will be treated in that country. However, in contrast to Adler (1987) and Jelinek & Adler (1988), Caligiuri & Tung (1999) state that the reluctance to send female employees overseas stems from the host countries treatment of their own women, the assumption is that if host country women are not treated as equals, then neither will foreign women. In these instances perceptions of host country attitudes to women may be the key factor in decisions to deploy women international assignees. If these perceptions are based on assumptions rather than facts, then increasing the number of female expatriates may be hindered by a belief in a myth, as suggested previously by Adler (1987).

Caligiuri & Cascio (1998) argue that many overseas countries negatively stereotype and fail to value professional women and that this contributes to the substantial under-representation of female expatriates. In China, research has shown that cultural stereotypes about female managers may be detrimental to the success of female expatriates. Such ascertains may force MNCs to reconsider sending female managers to China (Owen et al., 2007). Knowledge and understanding of these stereotypes is crucial in bringing down barriers to international assignments for females, as if they are understood it is possible to counter them. The difficulty is that generalised assumptions concerning ‘overseas’ treatment of women managers seem to be prevalent within the international business environment. Empirical research needs to permeate through the walls of MNCs, as at present the lack of the recognition of the facts is impeding gender progression (Linehan & Scullion, 2001).

Linehan & Scullion (2001) argue that the under-representation of female international managers is possibly compounded by the lack of female mentors. Mentoring is common practice and crucial on many international assignments, however statistically men are much less likely to select a female protégé. This is to the detriment of the career development of women, especially when taking into account Noe’s (1988) theory, that protégés in mixed gender groups are often more effective than protégés in same gender groups. Burke & Mckeen (1994) reinforce this idea; they argue that the selection process may be biased towards men. In contrast to Noe’s (1988) argument, Arnold & Davidson (1990) found that male mentors are often less sensitive to female employees feelings and thus problems are caused when there are mixed gender internal assignment groups. If organisational practices such as mentoring are skewed in favour of men, it is obviously disadvantageous to female career progression. However, practices favour the dominant group, which of course happens to be male. These practices are tailored for male needs and until training and development strategies are altered and created with the nurturing of diversity in mind, gender imbalances will persist in international business (Burrell & Hearn, 1989). The difficulty is that such practices are often embedded in organisational culture and changing this is always a considerable challenge. Until these practices are changed they will manifest as considerable barriers for females wanting to embark on an international career (Linehan & Scullion, 2001).

Expatriate business experience is seen as a significant advantage for the career development of senior employees. As increasingly international assignments are considered a prerequisite to the senior jobs in the upper echelons of management (Stroh & Caligiuri, 1998). Linehan & Scullion (2001) are in consensus, as they state that high potential managers are often sent on international assignments; as this is seen as being integral in their development for senior positions at home. The revering of international experience for senior career progression is to the detriment of female managers, as there are far less women than men with international experience, thus there are far less women than men being promoted to senior positions. The failure to send women on expatriate assignments is harming the long-term domestic career development of women and the consequence is a lack of women reaching the very top. This argument is supported by recent figures by the Cranfield female FTSE report of 2007, which showed that despite rhetoric of gender equality the number of women on FTSE 100, 250, 350 is reported to be failing (Financial Times, 2007).

It is imperative to address this decline, as organisations who do not, do so at their own disadvantage. As they are not utilizing a significant proportion of their workforce to their optimal potential and this is tantamount to a sin in the ultra competitive modern market. Failure to develop female talent internationally also cuts down the size of the group of people capable of handling senior management at home. Thus, if possible it is in the interests of both parties to increase the number of female expatriates (Black, et al, 1992). Furthermore, MNCs should actively encourage females to take assignments abroad, because to do otherwise would be in contravention of equal opportunity legislation and the MNC could be open to legal action (Caligiuri & Cascio, 1998). .

To help remove the barriers to female expatriate assignments, MNCs need to change organisational culture and put in place unambiguous measures, to encourage their talented female employees to take overseas postings. By championing family friendly practices and highlighting female expatriate role models (Financial Times, 2007). MNCs that are sensitive to female needs and are creating policies with these needs in mind are already reaping the benefits. As Smerd (2007) states that the new expatriate is increasingly young, female and single. One of the driving reasons behind this is the decisions of many MNCs to make assignments more female and family friendly by shortening them to less than a year; previously they were often 3 to 5 years. Continuing to make conditions more female friendly and actively promoting international opportunities for females will also motivate other females international ambitions and it would prove that the working practices of MNCs are in line with their corporate values (Caligiuri & Cascio, 1998). In support, Punnett et al. (1992) notes that MNCs with successful family orientated policies will have a much better chance at attracting the best female candidates to take international assignments. MNCs are realising that the gender disparity will not change unless measures such as these are put in place. Until the 1980’s only 5% of American expatriates were women (Caligiuri& Tung, 1999) By Tung’s study in (1997) 13.9% of respondents were women and as of Smerd (2007) 21% of expatriates are female. Therefore, it is possible that these measures are already working, albeit at a slow pace and there is still a long way to go to.

Traditionally the traits and characteristics that women possess in comparison to men have often been seen as contradictory to management and this has been a barrier to female entry to management. However, organisations now more than ever appreciate diversity and they are recognising female behavioural traits as a positive rather than a negative. As the skills that females often possess are often skills that males do not possess (Jelinek & Adler, 1988). If MNCs incorporate more women in their international work, they will have access to a wider range of technical and interpersonal characteristics. For example, evidence suggests that women tend to achieve their goals through cooperation and relationship building. These traits are particularly effective in countries where there is a high-context business culture such as Latin America or the far-east (Caligiuri & Cascio, 1998). Therefore, sending a female assignee to one of these countries, will offer more of an advantage than sending a male assignee. Research also shows that women are better than men at learning languages, they also have the soft skills required to communicate and build relationships. Furthermore, in south-east Asia trust is an integral part of business relationships, because of their skills women may be better at creating and nurturing these trust based relationships (Financial Times, 2006). Although, if the MNC is operating in a country such as China where gender biases pervade, the presence of a woman as opposed to a man may make it more difficult to develop trust (Owen et al., 2007).

Caligiuri & Cascio (1998) argue that women will be better operatives than men for many international assignments because of their different style of management. To illustrate this Tung (1997) states that in the international business context, strategic alliances based on relationships are often paramount, in these situations female assignees offer an advantage because they often possess the traits to facilitate these relationships. In the modern turbo charged economic environment the utilization of any person who can add an advantage to a company is crucial (Caligiuri & Tung, 1999). The difficulty is finding the right people with the right skills to fulfil these assignments. According to Stroh & Caligiuri (1998) this issue is one of the greatest international human resource concerns.

MNCs want to blend into the culture of the countries they are operating in acting as similar to local companies as possible, in the hope that this will help them gain a competitive advantage. Under the guise of chasing this competitive advantage, they may decide not to send women to countries where doing business with women is either assumed not to be the norm or is not the norm. However, it is a paradox that in many situations this type of activity instead of aiding, may hinder operations and as a result may be to the detriment of competitive advantage (Cava & Mayer, 1993). If a MNCs first consideration when allocating overseas assignments is the host country attitudes to female managers, then they may not send the best person for the job (Caligiuri & Tung, 1999).

In conclusion, the modern business environment is increasingly becoming internationally orientated. There are now more assignments than ever and as a result there is an even greater demand for talent to fulfil these assignments. This has increased the need to change the status quo and operationalize female employees (Caligiuri & Cascio, 1998).

To catalyse increasing numbers of female international assignees the fundamental barriers need to be addressed. In the study of Lowe et al. (1999) it was made clear that much of the under-representation of women on international assignment is not down to discrimination, it was down to female prerogative. Thus the challenge for organisations is to address what the driving reasons are for this prerogative, as it seems at present many females are reluctant travellers. The debate concerning host country attitudes to women lacked clarity, however it established that perceptions of host country attitude were often a determining factor in MNC decisions to send their assignees abroad, rather than the reality of the situation (Jelinek & Adler,1988) (Adler, 1987). It was also concluded that entrenched organisational practices such as mentoring are skewed in favour of the dominant male group. This as a result acts as a significant barrier to international assignments for women. In order to really change the organisational culture that such practices are embedded in, organisations need to internally assess themselves (Linehan & Scullion, 2001).

The continued under-representation of female international assignees is to the detriment of many companies success and it makes the precious pool of talent even smaller. The reluctance to send females overseas is harming their future career development, future leaders could be lost because of a lack of overseas experience. As a solution to the gender disparity MNCs are introducing female and family friendly measures to attract the best female candidates to overseas assignments (Financial Times, 2007). As there are many qualities that women possess that are required to broaden the skills base, for example, building relationships with colleagues customers may be an integral part of an overseas assignment and these relationships may be facilitated by traits inherent in many females (Tung, 1997). In factm there will be many situations that could be better handled by females, this is why gender diversity in international assignments is integral. According to Yvonne Sonsino principal at Mercer HR Consulting group “companies are realising that in this competitive age they are wasting half their talent by not sending women on international assignments” (P1, Financial Times, 2006). Summarily, through taking a proactive approach to female international assignees MNCs could gain that edge over their competitor’s edge. After all why utilize only part of your workforce as a strategic resource of competitive advantage when you can utilize all of it (Pfeffer, 1994).

References
Adler, N, J. (1993a) cited in Linehan, M. & Scullion, H. (2001) Challenges for female international managers: evidence from Europe, Journal of Management Psychology, Vol 16.  No.3.

Adler, N, J. (1987) Pacific Basin Managers: A Gaijin, Not a Woman, Human Resource Management, 26: 169-92.

Adler, N, J. (1986) Do MBA’s Want International Careers? International Journal of Intercultural-relations, 277-99.

Arnold, V. & Davidson, M, J. (1990) Adopt a mentor: the new way ahead for women managers, Women in management review, Vol 5. No.1.

Barnes, W. (2006) FT Careers Asia: Women Executives poised to enter the male-strom, Financial Times.  accessed at http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=international+assignment+female&
aje=true&id=061026000944&ct=0&nclick_check=102/04/2008.

Black, J, S. Gregersen, H.B.  & Mendenhall, M, E.  cited in Caligiuri, P, M.  & Tung, R, L.  (1999) Comparing the success of male and female expatriates from a US-based multinational company, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10:5 October.

Burke, R, J. & McKeen, C, A. (1994) Career development among managerial and professional women, in Davidson, M, J. & Burke, R, J. (eds) Women in Management: Current Research Issues, London, p65-79.

Burrell, G. & Hearn, J. (1989) cited in Linehan, M.  & Scullion, H.  (2001) Challenges for female international managers: evidence from Europe, Journal of Management Psychology, Vol 16.  No.3.

Caligiuri, P, M & Cascio, W, F.  (1998) Can We Send Her There?  Maximising the Success of Western Women on Global Assignments, Journal of World Business, 33, 4.

Caligiuri, P, M.  & Tung, R, L.  (1999) Comparing the success of male and female expatriates from a US-based multinational company, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10:5 October.

Cava, A. & Mayer, D. (1993) Gender discrimination abroad, Business and Economic Review, 40 13-16.

Gratton, L. & Walker, L. (2007) Gender equality a solid business case at last, Financial Times.  accessed at http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText
=international+assignment+female&aje=true&id=071028000029&ct=0 04/04/2008.

Jelinek, M. & Adler, N. (1988) women: World-Class Managers for Global Competition, The Academy of Management Executive, Vol.11. No.1.

Linehan, M.  & Scullion, H.  (2001) Challenges for female international managers: evidence from Europe, Journal of Management Psychology, Vol 16.  No.3.

Lowe, K, B. Downes, M. & Kroeck, G, K. (1999) The impact of gender and location on the willingness to accept overseas assignments, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol 10. No.2.

Noe, R. (1998) cited in Linehan, M.  & Scullion, H.  (2001) Challenges for female international managers: evidence from Europe, Journal of Management Psychology, Vol 16.  No.3.

Owen, C, L. Javalgi, R, G. & Scherer, R, F.  (2007) Success Strategies for Expatriate Women Managers in China, Review of Business, March 22.

Pfeffer, J. (1994) Competitive Advantage Through People, Harvard Business School Press.

Punnett, B, J. Crocker, O. & Stevens, M, A (1992) The challenges for women expatriates and spouses: some empirical evidence, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 3:3 Dec.

Scullion, H. (2000) cited in Linehan, M.  & Scullion, H.  (2001) Challenges for female international managers: evidence from Europe, Journal of Management Psychology, Vol 16.  No.3.

Smerd, J. (2007) More women, young workers on the move, Workforce Management, Vol.86. No.14.

Soble, J (2008) Recruitment: Headhunters look to beat talent crunch, Financial Times, accessed at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6c0d89ca-f3f1-11dc-aaad-0000779fd2ac,s01=1.html 25/03/2008.

Stroh, L, K. & Caligiuri, P, M.  (1998) cited in Caligiuri, P, M & Cascio, W, F.  (1998) Can We Send Her There?  Maximising the Success of Western Women on Global Assignments, Journal of World Business, 33, 4.

Tung, R. L. (1997) cited in Caligiuri, P, M.  & Tung, R, L.  (1999) Comparing the success of male and female expatriates from a US-based multinational company, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10:5 October.

Westwood, R.I. & Leung, S, M. (1994) The Female Expatriate Manager Experience: Coping with Gender and Culture, International Studies of Management and Organization, 24: 64-85.

Bibliography
Mendenhall, M, E. Dunbar, E. & Oddou, G. (1987) Expatriate Selection, Training and Career Patching: A Review and Critique, Human Resource Management, 26: 331-46.