LinköpingUniversity|DepartmentofManagementandEngineeringMaster’sthesis,30credits|PrograminBusinessandEconomics–BusinessAdministration

Spring2016|ISRN-number:LIU-IEI-FIL-A--16/02263--SE

FemaleExpatriatesinGenderedOrganizations

Aqualitativestudyonwomeninindustrial

organizations

SaraHansson MathildaIngemarssonSupervisor:RamsinYakob

LinköpingUniversity

SE-58183Linköping,Sweden+46013281000,www.liu.se

Preface

Throughout this semester, new insights and inspiring meetings have brought us to

widenourhorizonsandtogainadeeperunderstandingof thecontemporarygender

debate. With these new insights we hope to raise the knowledge, awareness and

interestofexpatriateassignmentsamongwomenandthatthisstudywillbeasource

of inspiration tobothorganizations and scholars, aswell as to everyonewhowould

findthisthesisinteresting.

Wewould like toexpressourappreciation to the representatives inbothcompanies

forhelpandsupport,aswellastoallinterviewandfocusgroupparticipantsforsharing

interesting histories and for being inspirers. Lastly, wewould also like to thank our

supervisorRamsinYakobforguidanceandsupportalongtheway.

Linköping,May29,2016

SaraHansson&MathildaIngemarsson

Abstract

Background Today'sorganizationsarefacinganincreasingneedofcompetentglobalmanagers. Internationalexperienceisthusoftenarequirement inorderto reach positions within top management. Expatriate assignments,wherebyanemployeerelocatestoworkinanothercountryfora longerperiod of time is a common way to gain international competence.However, the typical expatriate has traditionally been a man and stilltoday, women are underrepresented in international management.Pressure from society on gender equality challenges organizations toincreasetheirnumberoffemaleexpatriates. Inordertoexplainthelowshareoffemaleexpatriates,priorresearchhasforemostfocusedonthewoman as an individual in the expatriation process rather than theorganization'simpact.Thereforeweseeaneedofinvestigatinghowtheorganization and its underlying gendered substructures affect femaleexpatriates.

Purpose Thepurposeofthestudyistoinvestigatehowgenderedsubstructuresinanorganizationinfluencetheprospectsoffemaleexpatriates.

Methodology ThestudyisbasedonaqualitativeapproachandbuildsuponinterviewsandfocusgroupsconductedintwoSwedishMNCs.Adeductiveapproachhas been used, whereby gendered organizational theory creates theframeworkofthisstudy.

Conclusion The result fromour study shows that gendered substructures influencetheprospectsforwomentotakeonexpatriateassignments.Thiscanbeseen in the vertical segregation within organizations, the lack of rolemodelsandahigherpressureonwomeninmanagerialpositions.

Contribution This study is important since it stresses the organization's role onwomen'sprospectsforexpatriateassignments.Furthermoreithighlightsthe complexity of gender equality work in organizations and gives itscontributionstofurtherresearchwithinthefield.

TableofContents

1.INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................11.1BACKGROUND........................................................................................................................11.2PROBLEMDISCUSSION.............................................................................................................31.3PURPOSEANDPROBLEMDEFINITION..........................................................................................61.4DELIMITATIONS......................................................................................................................61.5COURSEOFACTION.................................................................................................................61.6THESISOUTLINE......................................................................................................................7

2.METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................................92.1SCIENTIFICAPPROACH..............................................................................................................92.2RESEARCHSTRATEGY.............................................................................................................102.3RESEARCHAPPROACH............................................................................................................102.4RESEARCHDESIGN.................................................................................................................112.5REALIZATIONOFSTUDY..........................................................................................................122.6PRIMARYDATA.....................................................................................................................142.7SECONDARYSOURCES............................................................................................................192.8ANALYSISANDINTERPRETATIONOFDATA..................................................................................202.9QUALITYOFRESEARCH...........................................................................................................22

3.THEORY...........................................................................................................................253.1GENDEREDSUBSTRUCTURES....................................................................................................253.2GENDEREDSUBTEXT..............................................................................................................333.3SUMMARYOFTHEORETICALFRAMEWORK.................................................................................34

4.EMPIRICALFINDINGS.......................................................................................................374.1THERECRUITINGPROCESS–TRANSPARENTORBIASED?...............................................................374.2REPATRIATION–ANXIETYORNEWPOSSIBILITIES?.......................................................................404.3THEEXPATRIATEASSIGNMENT–ACAREERBOOST?.....................................................................434.4THEIMPORTANCEOFNETWORK...............................................................................................444.5BEINGAFEMALEEXPAT–ANON-ISSUEORANOBSTACLE?...........................................................454.6THEEXPATRIATEASSIGNMENT–DESIGNEDFORMENWITHHOUSEWIVES?......................................474.7FAMILYPLANNINGANDEXPATRIATION......................................................................................484.8THESTRUCTURALEXPLANATION...............................................................................................49

5.ANALYSIS.........................................................................................................................535.1ORGANIZATIONALPROCESSES-SEGREGATIONANDGLASSBORDERS...............................................535.2ORGANIZATIONALGENDEREDCULTURE–ISSOCIETYTOBLAME?...................................................555.3INTERACTIONBETWEENINDIVIDUALS–WHATISHIDDENUNDERTHESURFACE?...............................565.4GENDEREDIDENTITIES-"IFSHECAN,ICAN"..............................................................................595.5THEABSTRACTEXPATRIATE.....................................................................................................61

6.DISCUSSION&CONCLUSION............................................................................................636.1CONTRIBUTIONSTOTHECONTEMPORARYGENDERDEBATE...........................................................646.2RESEARCHCONTRIBUTIONSANDIMPLICATIONSFORFURTHERRESEARCH.........................................65

7.REFERENCES....................................................................................................................66

APPENDIXI..........................................................................................................................73

APPENDIXII.........................................................................................................................76

APPENDIXIII........................................................................................................................78

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1.Introduction

1.1Background

Gender equality in corporate boards and senior management is a widely discussed

topiconpoliticalaswellasmanagerialarenastoday.Duringthepastdecades,research

inthisfieldhasforemostfocusedonwomenonnationalboards(Acker,1990;1992a;

2006; Abrahamsson, 2002; Lückerrath-Rovers, 2013). Still, little attention has been

given to whether women are given the same opportunities asmen to extend their

careers beyond their national border. More and more companies are going global

which requires them to send employees abroad. A survey conducted in 2014,

investigating trends in global mobility, found that over 50 % of the responding

companies predicted a need of increased mobility among their employees (Cartus,

2014).Employeesgoingoninternationalassignmentsarereferredtoasexpatriates,a

notionGroenewald andNeubeiser (2000) define as "an employeewho is on a long-

term assignment outside their home country" (Mayerhofer, Hartmann, Michelitsch-

Riedl&Kollinger,2004:1372).Thebenefitsamultinationalcorporation(MNC)receives

fromsendingexpatriatesare increasedcontrolandspecialistknowledge,buttosend

employees on international assignments is also combined with a high risk since

expatriates are very expensive and the probability of expatriates failing is relatively

high(Mutsuddi,2012).

Amajorpartoftheearlyexpatriationresearchbuildsonthetraditionalpictureofan

expatriate as a male employee in his 50's, working for a MNC based in a western

country. Accompanied by his family, he relocates from the parent company to a

subsidiary abroad for three to five years (Dowling & Welch, 2004). Furthermore,

expatriate assignments have traditionally been key positions initiated from the

organization and seen as a stepping stone up the career ladder (McNulty, 2014).

However,theimageofwhatanexpatriateishaschangedoverthelastcoupleofyears.

Organizationsarechangingandthetypicalcareerpath,climbingthehierarchywithin

one company, is challenged by individuals creating their own, boundaryless careers.

Haslberger and Vaiman, (2013) refers to this phenomenon by claiming that careers

havegone frombeingexternal, createdbyorganizations, to internal, createdby the

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individual itself.Therefore,expatriateassignments todayarenotexclusive for senior

managers in their 50's; also junior employees push for going on international

assignmentsinordertodevelopandchallengethemselves(Siljanen&Lämsä,2009).

It is also no longer only bigMNCs that have the need to send expatriates since the

technicaldevelopmenthascreatedpossibilitiesforsmallercompaniesandstart-upsto

be "born global". Through these viral opportunities, the need for long-term

assignmentshasdeclinedinfavorforshort-termandflexibleoptions(McNulty,2014).

Although global mobility challenges have changed rapidly and opened up for an

increasedheterogeneityamongexpatriates,muchoftheliteraturestillfocusesonthe

traditionalviewofexpatriatesasmiddle-agedmen(ibid).

However,researchonfemaleexpatriateswasinitiatedinthelate1970's(Adler,1979).

Intheinitialstagesoffemaleexpatriateresearch,womeninseniormanagementwere

veryfewandsinceexpatriatesusuallywerechosenfromacompany'sseniorlevel,the

lackoffemaleexpatriateswasexplainedbythisfact(Altman&Shortland,2008).Ithas

passedover35yearssinceAdler(1979)firstraisedthequestionandalotofresearch

hassincethenfocusedondifferentaspectsofwomenininternationalenvironments.A

majorityofthestudiestaketheperspectiveoftheindividualwoman'shumancapital,

preferences and role within the organization (Shortland, 2009). According to the

relocationserviceagentCartus (2014),womenrepresentonly24%ofallexpatriates

worldwide.Acontradictioninthiscontextisthat60%ofallstudentsgoingonErasmus

exchangearewomen(EuropeanCommission,2014).Whydowomendisappear from

theinternationalarenawhenenteringthecorporateworld?AsInternationalBusiness

students, striving towards an international career, we found this topic particularly

interesting.

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1.2Problemdiscussion

Ourglobalizedandfast-pacedworldhasputpressureonMNCstogainunderstanding

of international affairs and cultures, which requires employees that possess

internationalexpertise.However,manyorganizationsstrugglewithshortages inskills

duetohighcompetitivenessandarethereforeinneedofcompetentglobalmanagers

in order to retain theirmarket position (Tung, 2004; Ployhart, 2006). Therefore it is

crucial fororganizationstoretainandattract thebest internationalmanagers,which

Tung(2004)suggeststobewomen.Herstatementderivesfromresearchshowingthat

the typical leader style of a woman might be more successful when working in

differentcultures(ibid).Additionally,politicalpressureandsocietiescallforagreater

diversity inmanagement and by accommodating to society's pressure organizations

addlegitimatevalue,whichalsowillattractandretainthebesttalents,anecessityfor

MNCs today (Hillman, Shropshire & Canella, 2007). A frequently used measure to

evaluate gender equality is the presence of female seniormanagers andwomenon

executive boards. Since the way to senior management positions often require

international experience (Insch, McIntyre & Napier, 2008), organizations must pay

attentiontogenderdiversityamongexpatriates.Throughanenlargedanddiversified

poolofbothmaleandfemaleexpatriates,companieswouldgainbetterconditionsto

meet global demand and standards (Varma & Russell, 2016). Taking this into

consideration, one could presume that we since the 1980's would have seen a

remarkablechangeonwomenholdinginternationalcareers,buthavewe?

Adler's (1984b) threemythsmade grounds for a debate already in the 1980'swhen

investigatingtheabsenceofwomenininternationalmanagement.Thefirstmythsays

thatwomenarenot interested inworkingabroadduetofamilyreasons.Throughan

extensive survey on MBA students in North America, she found no evidence

supporting thismyth. Further, Adler investigated if the secondmyth,which claimed

that prejudices from host country nationals towards women would make female

managersineffective,evenexisted.Herresultsfoundthathostcountrynationalswere

notasreluctanttofemaleexpatriatesaspreviouslyestimated.Atlast,Adlerexamined

thethirdmyth;organizationsarereluctanttorecruitfemaleexpatriatesandtherefore

do female employees doubt their chances to an international career. This lastmyth

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turnedouttobepartiallytrue;manycompanieswerefoundhesitanttosendwomen

oninternationalassignments.

Since Adler's ground breaking research over 30 years ago, these three myths have

been central in several studies within this field. Lowe, Downes and Kroeck (1999)

concluded that there is a significant difference between men and women in their

willingness to work in specific countries but not in their willingness to seek

international assignments. Taylor and Napier (1996b) confirm Adler's research by

stating that the role of host country nationals is a non-existing problem for female

expatriates.However,eventhoughwomenhavethesamemotivationtoworkabroad

astheirmalecolleaguesandarelikelytohavethesamechancestosucceedwiththeir

tasks,theyarelesslikelytobechosenforplacementsabroad(Forster1999).According

toAdler's(1984b)andmanyfollowingstudiesconductedwithinthefield(Loweetal,

1999; Taylor & Napier, 1996b; Forster, 1999), the lack of females going on global

assignmentsseemstoberelatedtotheorganization.

Even though the number of female expatriates has slightly increased over the last

decades (Organization Resources Counselors (ORC), 2005), research refers their

absence to an expatriate glass ceilingwith many corporations having cultures that

involuntary favormenasexpatriates (Inschetal,2008).Shortland's (2009)extensive

work onmapping and categorizing the causes that exclude female expatriates from

internationalmanagementexplainsoneofthereasonsas"Statisticaldiscrimination".

This implies that many organizations reason that the advantages of investing in

support, aid and encouragement for female expatriates do not compensate or

outweighthecostoftherequiredresources.Additionally,Shortland'stheorypointsto

an isomorphic behavior among organizations; they look at similar successful

organizations and replicate their behavior and structures, excluding women from

internationalassignments(ibid).

Throughhistory,organizationsconsistedsolelyofmenandwerethuscreatedbyand

for men (Acker, 1992b). When women entered the labor market, the existing

organizations, and the perception of what an organization is and looks like, were

already built and shaped according to the organization'smale workers (Collinson &

Hearn,1994).Takingthis inmind,onemaypresumethattheorganizationperse; its

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structure, culture and underlying assumptions, are still today shaped after and

adaptedtoamaleperspectiveandthebehavior,wantsandneedsofamaleemployee.

Asaconsequence,Acker(1990)introducedthenotiongenderedorganizationsinorder

todescribethesituationwherebyfemaleshavebeenplacedintomalecontextsandin

order to takeonsuperior roles inanorganization,are thusexpectedtocomplywith

typically"male"roles,to'man'ageandbeinga'man'ager(Acker,1992a).

Kanter's (1977) research on men and women in organizations found that gender

differences inorganizationswerenotcausedbyindividualcharacteristicsofmenand

womenasearlierthought,butbecauseoforganizationalstructures.Organizationand

managementtheorieswerefora longtimeconsideredtobegenderneutral (Wilson,

2001),but inthelate1970'sclassicalsocialandorganizationaltheories likeMaslow's

hierarchyofneedswerecriticizedofbeingshapedformen(ibid).Inthecontemporary

debateBendl (2008) claims that researchers avoid emphasizing feminine traits since

thatwouldquestionmostmanagementandorganizationaltheoryconductedthrough

history. However, during the late 1980's and the beginning of the 90's, the gender

aspectoforganizationalculturesgotalotofattention(Acker,1992b;Gherardi,1995)

and today almost every literature on organizational theory includes sections where

genderanddiversityarehandled(Alvesson&Billing,2009).Regardlessofthefactthat

most corporations todayhaveoutlinedextensiveplans andpolicies of diversity, few

liveastheylearn.Statisticsfrom2014showthatwomeninSwedenpossess29%ofall

management positions in the private sector and only 6% hold the position as chief

executive officer (Statistiska Centralbyrån (SCB), 2014). The industrial sector has the

lowestrateofwomeninmanagementwith18,9%(ibid).

In the year of 2012, ten Swedish-owned MNCs, of which the majority operates in

industrial sectors, took action when committing to the initiative "Battle of the

Numbers",whichaimedtosupportfemaleleadershipamongandintheirorganizations

(Battle of the Numbers Summary, 2013). TheMNCs all agreed upon and signed an

individualdeclarationofhowtheyactivelywouldworkonequalitybetweengenders

byusingseveraldifferentmeasuressuchas recruiting,promotion,work/lifebalance,

company culture and salaries. As previouslymentioned, an expatriate assignment is

oftenanecessarystepinordertoclimbthecareerladder.Therefore,wehavereason

6

to believe that SwedishMNCs have an interest of increasing the number of female

expatriates. Referring to the discussion above, we assert that there is a need for

organizationstoidentifyandunderstandtheirhiddenunderlyingstructuresthatmight

formobstaclesforfemaleexpatriates.

1.3PurposeandProblemDefinition

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyze gendered substructures in

Swedishglobalorganizations.Additionally,ourworkaims togive its contributions to

thecontemporarydebateonwomenininternationalmanagerialpositions.

Thisleadsustothefollowingresearchquestion:

• How do organizations’ gendered substructures affect and influence the

prospectsoffemaleexpatriates?

1.4Delimitations

Thisstudyislimitedtoexpatriatesandwillnotinvestigateothertypesofinternational

assignments. Furthermore, industrial industries with low numbers of female

employeesare infocus;sectorswithmorewomen,suchasthemediaorthefashion

industryarenotsubjectsofthisstudy.Furthermore,thisstudyfocusesexclusivelyon

SwedishMNCs,foreignorganizationsarenotparticipatinginthisstudy.

1.5CourseofactionThis is a comparative case study on female expatriates in two Swedish MNCs,

operatingwithinindustrialsectors.Thestudyhasbeenrealizedthroughinterviewsand

focus groupswith employees in both companies. The participantswere current and

former expatriates, recruiters,HR-representatives and employeeswithout expatriate

experience.

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1.6Thesisoutline

Introduction

• Intheintroductionwepresentthebackgroundandproblematizationofourstudyandintroducethereadertoourchosenfieldsofresearch,femaleexpatriatesandgenderedorganizations.Additionallywepresentourpurposeandresearchquestion.

Methodology

• Inourmethodologysectionwediscussourchoiceofresearchapproach,designandstrategy.Theparticipatingorganizationsarepresentedandfollowedbyadiscussionconcerningprimaryandsecondarydata,aswellasthestudy'squality.

Theory

•Withacriticalapproach,wherebypriorresearchisrewievedandvalued,thetheorysectionpresentsanddeepenstheunderstandingoftheresearchfields.

Empiricalfindings

• Inourempiricalfindingswepresentthecollecteddatafromourfocusgroupsandinterviews.

Analysis

• Thereafterweproceedfromourpurposeandanalyzeourempiricalfindingswithhelpfromthetheorythatwepresentedinthetheorysection.

Conclusion

• Atlastwepresentthestudy'sconclusions,whicharediscussedinthelightofourmethodology,theoryandempiricalfindings.Furtermorewegiveourcontributionstotheresearchfield,aswellasimplicationstofurtherresearch.

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2.Methodology

2.1ScientificapproachInordertogetalegitimatepictureoftheauthors’perceptionofrealityandknowledge

it is crucial tomediate the study's ontological and epistemological standpoints. The

scienceofontologybuildsonhowthenatureofthesocialworldisexplained(Bryman

&Bell,2015).Moreover,thescienceofepistemologyaimstoexplainhowknowledge

from the social world is possible (Bryman & Bell, 2015; Hammersley, 2013). The

theories of ontology and epistemology form the base for several methodological

philosophies. The field of ontology can be divided into two different theoretical

standpoints, objectivism and constructionism.Objectivism is an ontological position,

which claims that social entities and phenomenon are objects whose reality and

existence can be explained externally and independent of other social actors. The

other ontological position; constructionism, asserts that the social world and social

entities are constructions, continually built and explained by the perceptions and

actionsofothersocialactors(Bryman&Bell,2015).Sinceourresearchquestionsand

purpose concerns investigation of social relations and gendered substructures, our

researchispositionedwithintheconstructivism.

Furthermore, one perspective within the epistemology is the interpretivism, which

claimsthatknowledgechangesovertime,throughandinaccordancewithpeopleand

social actors. Therefore, researchers that take an interpretative perspective must

understand the subjectivemeaning of social interaction,which requires a logic that

reflectsdifferencesofpeopleandobjects(Bryman&Bell,2015;Hammersley,2013).At

first, interpretivism appears to be the best suitable perspective for our study, but

considering that our study aims to identify rather than interpret organizations'

underlying gendered substructures, we have chosen to apply a critical realism

perspective.

Therealismperspectivestrivestoexplainthesubjectforinvestigationinawaythatis

as objective as possible (Justesen & Mik-Meyer, 2011). Furthermore, the realism

perspective is interested of the context since it aims to understand the context's

impactonthestudiedobject(ibid).However,eventhoughthegoaloftherealististo

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conductresearchthatistotallyobjective,manyresearchersclaimthatitisimpossible

to produce material that is completely unbiased (ibid). The sub-perspective critical

realismcriticizesourpossibilitiestobecertainofwhatrealityissincesocialstructures

are in constant change, compared to the structures of the natural science.

Furthermore, this perspective looks upon social constructions as being created by

mechanisms that are real but not observable without the studying of their effects

(ibid). The identification of these mechanisms is, according to the critical realist,

necessary inorder tochangethesocialworldandreality (Bryman&Bell,2015). It is

important thatwe,as femaleresearchers,stayasobjectiveaswepossiblycanwhen

carryingoutresearchwithinthegenderfield.Sincethisstudyaimsto investigatethe

underlyinggenderedsubstructures,weneedtoidentifythemechanismsthatsupport

and reinforce these structures.Wewill thereforeapply a critical realismperspective

and in accordance with this perspective we view knowledge as developmental and

also,thattherearemanywaystointerpretreality.

2.2Researchstrategy

Thepurposeofthisthesisistoinvestigatetheprospectsoffemaleexpatriateswithin

organizations.AccordingtoAlvehus(2013),thiskindofpurposeisbestinvestigatedby

studying fewer respondents butmore detailed and thorough. Our research strategy

will therefore apply a qualitative approach. In contrast with quantitative research,

which in collection and analysis of data focus on numbers and statistics, qualitative

studiesemphasizetheimportanceofwordsandtheirmeanings(Bryman&Bell,2015;

Sandelowski, 2004). Furthermore, qualitative research stresses the understanding of

socialactorsandrealitiesinordertounderstandtheparticipants'perceptionsoftheir

reality(Bryman&Bell,2015).Hence,inordertoinvestigatewhatishiddenunderthe

surface in the organizational structure, we recognize a qualitative research

methodologytobetheonebestapplicable.

2.3Researchapproach

We initiatedour studywithanextensive studyofprior researchand theorieswithin

theexpatriatefield.Thereafterweconductedinterviewsandfocusgroupsinorderto

collectempiricaldata.Thisapproachcanbeseenasadeductiveapproach,theclassical

view of science, whereby the research proceeds from established theories that are

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tested against observations (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The opposite of a deductive

approach is an inductive approach, which means that theory is the outcome of

research (ibid). Even though the inductiveanddeductiveapproachare seenas ideal

waysofhowresearchshouldbeconducted,itisbarelypossibletojuststicktooneof

them (Alvehus, 2013). Although an inductive approach builds on empirical findings,

having a theoretical understanding is often necessary. Likewise, most deductive

processes entail interpretative elements from the researcher (ibid). Our study is

primarilydeductivesincetheresultsofourempiricalfindingsbuildonthefoundations

of our theoretical compilations. However, although previous theories made an

importantgroundinourresearch,theinductiveapproachisstillpresentsincewehad

toreviseandextendourtheoreticalframeworkaccordingtoourempiricalfindingsin

retrospect.Accordinglythisisadeductivestudywithsomeinductivefeatures.

2.4Researchdesign

We have chosen to collect data through two organizations and thereby applied a

researchdesignthatcanbedescribedasacomparativecasestudy.Ascriticalrealists,

we are very interested in how the context influences a studied situation and case

studies are a common research design among qualitative researchers that provides

this possibility (Alvehus, 2013). However, a deductive study like ours, based on a

theoretical framework, cannot study all the content in a case. Both because it in

research terms is impossible but also since the research has to be conducted in

accordancewith the study's purpose,whichmeans that a specific angle of the case

must be chosen (ibid). Bryman and Bell (2015) suggest that we can get a better

understanding of the specific situation by studying and comparing different cases.

Additionally, it can bring more validity to the study since the researcher is able to

decide under what circumstances the chosen theory is applicable or not (ibid).

However,thecomparativedesignhasitsflaws;whenfocusingontwoormorecases,

theresearcherhastopickafocusalreadyfromthebeginning,whichcanleadtothat

other interesting angles have to remain uninvestigated (ibid). Since our study has a

cleardeductiveapproachthisdisadvantagewasnotprominent.Additionally,ascritical

realists the increasedvalidity that comeswith this approach isbeneficial inorder to

notfallforsimpleexplanations(Alvehus,2013).

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2.5Realizationofstudy

The study's empiricalmaterial is collected through interviews and focus groups. The

choicetousemorethanonemethodwhengatheringdatawasmadeinordertoobtain

differentperspectivesandperceptionsoforganizations'genderedsubstructures.

2.5.1Interviews

Qualitativeinterviewsoffergreatflexibility,whichmakesitasuitablewayofcollecting

empirical data (Bryman&Bell, 2015). Contrary to quantitative structured interviews

that are structured in accordance to a predetermined schedule with standardized

questions,qualitative interviewsare toa greaterextentadaptedafter the individual

respondent.Bycompilingandinterpretingtheresultsofseveralinterviews,thegoalis

to draw new conclusions (ibid). Additionally, a qualitative interview can be

distinguished as non-structured or semi-structured. An unstructured interview may

resemble a normal conversationwhere the interviewer enter the conversationwith

very few predetermined topics or questions and develops the conversation as it

proceeds,while a semi-structured interview is guidedby specific topicsorquestions

(ibid). Semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to come upwith exploratory

questions;toasktherespondenttoclarify,motivate,giveexamplesorsimplytoshow

appreciation and understanding,which invites the respondent to elaborate answers

andreasoning,givinganotherlevelofdepthtotheinterview(Gillham,2008).

Inorder to fulfill thepurposeofour studyand tobeable tomakecomparisonsand

drawconclusions fromourdata, it is necessary toapply a semi-structured interview

technique where we can steer the interview. In addition, the use of interviews is

motivated and supported bymany feminist researchers who advocate a qualitative

research framework since its flexibility entails the opportunity to construct optimal

interview conditions; a high level of trust between interviewer and respondent, a

visible mutual understanding from the interviewer and finally, a non-hierarchal

relationbetweenrespondentandinterviewer(Bryman&Bell,2015;Oakley,1981).

2.5.2Focusgroups

A focus group ismost easily explained as an interviewwithmore than one person.

However, contrary to an interview, the researcher in a focus group is rather a

moderator than an interviewer (Bryman&Bell, 2015). The synergies froma groups’

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settingmightresult inadditionalornew ideasthatwouldnothavebeenrevealed in

personal interviews (Stewart&Shamdasani, 1990). Theuseof focus groups through

discussions and collaboration invites the participants to inspire others to reveal

personal information, get perspectives on common understandings or new

experiences,challenge,supportandreacttoeachother'sopinions(Wilkinson,1998).

However,wemustkeepinmindthatalsofocusgroupshavetheirweaknesses.Oneof

them is that since participants' opinions and answers are influenced by other

participants or the researcher, they might not be independent of each other and

therefore, it is hard to draw valid conclusions (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990).

Additionally, in case one of the participants is very dominant, the rest of the group

mighthesitatetoexpresstheiropinionsandtheanswersmightthusbebiased(ibid).

Moreover, it is possible that characteristics, personality traits, gender, ethnicity and

behavioroftheinterviewerorresearcherwillaffectorinfluencetheresults(Wilkinson,

1998).

Wilkinson(1998),whohasconductedresearchinthefieldoffeministtheory,stresses

theimportanceandadvantagesof interactionbetweenparticipants.Moreover,focus

groups have traditionally been applied within marketing research (Bryman & Bell,

2015)andthereforewefinditinterestingtoapplythismethodinanotherfieldinorder

torevealnewfindings.

2.5.3Choiceoforganizations

A crucial criterion in our choice of organizations was to select organizations with a

history of sending out expatriates. Furthermore, the organization's interest for the

researchfieldandawillingnesstoparticipateweremandatoryfactorsinorderforus

to be able to conduct the research. Since we were interested in the underlying

structures and how they influence female employees' prospects for expatriate

assignments we wished to study organizations that traditionally not have attracted

many women. After some initial research we contacted ten Swedish multinational

corporations that corresponded to our requirements.We initiated a discussionwith

fiveofthecorporationsthatallwouldbeagoodfitforourstudyandfinallywechose

toproceedwiththetwothatwerewillingtoinvestenoughtimeinourstudy.

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Withagreatinterestinimprovingtheirgenderbalanceintheexpatriatefield,thetwo

participatingorganizationswereeagertoengageinandcontributetoourstudysince

they today are dominated bymenbut are activelyworking towards gender balance

withintheirorganizations.Byworkingwithonlytwoorganizationswehavebeenable

togainabetterunderstandingsincewecouldlookuponthesituationmoreobjectively

by, within the same organization, getting access to several people's different

perspectives. This objectivity is essential when conducting research with a critical

realismperspective(Alvehus,2013).

BothorganizationswishedtobeanonymousandwillhereafterbereferredtoasAlpha

and Beta. Organization Alpha is operating in a typically male dominated industry

employingmainly engineers and technicians.With about 40.000 employeesAlpha is

world leading intheirbusiness,operatingallovertheworld.Alphahascurrently350

expatriates,whereby12%,arewomen(Alpha,2016).

OrganizationBetaisoneofthemarketleadersinitsindustryandontheglobalmarket.

With 15.000 employees, Beta is operating worldwide, producing and selling high-

technologicalproducts.AlsoBetahasahistoryofprimarilyemployingengineersand

technicians,whichhistoricallyandstilltodaymostlyaremale.Atthemoment,Betahas

150expatriatesofwhom5%arewomen(Beta,2016).

2.6Primarydata

2.6.1Selectionandsample

Interviews and focus groups have been our primary data in this study,wherebywe

havecollecteddata froma totalof12respondents.Additionally,wespenta fullday

with aHR-representative inAlphaaswell as an introducing SkypemeetingwithHR-

representatives in Beta. This preparation helped us to understand how the

organizationworkedwiththeirexpatriates.

Whenselectingparticipants itwascrucialthattheywerefamiliarwiththeexpatriate

topic.However,duetoourdependencytotheorganizationsaswellasourverylimited

accesstotheiremployees,wewerenotabletochooserespondentstotheinterviews

or focusgroupsbyourselves. Insteadweexpressedourpreferencesandourcontact

personsatthecompaniescontactedemployeestheyconsideredtobeagoodfit.

15

In Alpha we conducted interviews with one recruitment manager, one female

expatriate and one HR-representative. At Beta we interviewed one recruitment

manager, one former male expatriate and one female junior employee without

expatriateexperience.ThefocusgroupatAlphaconsistedoffourfemales,allworking

as engineers. Three of them were former expats, whereby two of them had been

outgoingexpatriatesfromSwedenandonehadbeenanincomingexpatriatefromthe

US but is today permanently employed at the Swedish plant. The fourth participant

hadnotyetbeenanexpatriatebuthadsetan internationalassignmentasagoal for

the nearby future. Since one of the respondents did not speak Swedish, the focus

groupwas conducted in English. All participantswere familiarwith each other even

thoughonlytwoofthemworkedtogetheratthemoment.They interactedwellwith

each other and they agreed most of the time but were, however, not afraid of

opposinga statement theydidnot agreewith.AtBeta the focusgroup consistedof

twofemales,bothbeingformerexpatriatesworkingwithinHRandcommunication.In

theoriginalsettingathirdwomanwouldhaveparticipatedinthesession,butdueto

illnessshehadtocancelatthelastminute.Thetwowomenthatintheendformedthe

focusgroup inBetabothkneweachotherandhadaverygoodcommunicationwith

eachother.

Withregardtoourcriticalrealismperspectiveandinordertounderstandthepossible

genderedstructureswithintheorganization,itwasimportantforustohavediversity

amongourrespondents.Wealsowantedtoincludewomenthatnotyethadbeenon

an expatriate assignment in order to capture different perceptions of international

assignments, a perspective that has not been deeply investigated in prior female

expatriateresearch.Additionally,inpreviousgenderresearchlittleattentionhasbeen

giventohowmenreflectandperceivetheirsituationsincethewomanmostoftenhas

been in the spotlight (Alvesson & Billing, 2009). Since recruiting managers, former

expatriates and employees who not have been on international assignments

necessarily agree on how the organization handle its expatriates; we chose to not

include the recruiting managers and the male expatriate in our focus groups. This

decisionwasmadeinordertominimizetheriskforinsecurityamongtheparticipants.

16

In total we conducted six in-depth interviews and two focus groups and these are

presentedinthetablesbelow.

Table2.1:Interviews

Participant Company Age Yearswithin

thecompany

Locationand

durationof

interview

Expatriate

location&

duration

Accompanying

JJ:Woman,

current

expatriate,

GeneralManager

Alpha 45-50 5years Skype

interview,45

minutes

Switzerland,

3years

Yes,husband

andchildren

KK:Man,

Recruitment

Manager

Alpha 45-50 9years Alpha's

facilities,50

minutes

None Notapplicable

LL:Woman,HR

Professional

Alpha 35-40 5years Alpha's

facilities,50

minutes

None Notapplicable

CC:Woman,

junioremployee,

Competence

Manager

Beta 25-30 2years Phone

interview,40

minutes

None Notapplicable

DD:Man,former

expatriate,

engineer

Beta 35-40 10years Skype

interview,45

minutes

India,1,5

years

Yes,wifeand

children

EE:Woman,

Recruitment

Manager,(Head

ofHR)

Beta 45-50 25years Skype

interview,40

minutes

None Notapplicable

17

Table2.2:FocusgroupAlpha

Participant Age Yearswithin

thecompany

Locationand

durationoffocus

group

Expatriate

locationand

duration

Accompanying

FF:Woman,former

expatriate,Global

OperationsDeveloper

30-35 10years Alpha'sfacilities,

1hand50

minutes

Sweden,3½

years

No

GG:Woman,former

expatriate.GlobalProject

PortfolioManager

40-45 8years Alpha'sfacilities,

1hand50

minutes

China,3½

years

Yes,husband

andchildren

HH:Woman,Flow

Manager

30-35 6years Alpha'sfacilities,

1hand50

minutes

None Notapplicable

II:Woman,former

expatriate.Production

Manager

35-40 11years Alpha'sfacilities,

1hand50

minutes

China,4½

years

Yes,husband

Table2.3:FocusgroupBeta

Participant Age Numberof

yearsinthe

company

Locationand

durationoffocus

group

Expatriate

locationand

duration

Accompanying

AA:Woman,former

expatriate.Employer

BrandingHR

45-50 16years Skypemeeting,

55minutes

India,3years

Thailand,1,5

years

Yes,husband

andchildren

BB:Woman,former

expatriate.

CommunicationManager

45-50 5years Skypemeeting,

55minutes

India,2years Yes,husband

18

2.6.2Gatheringofprimarydata

Before conducting our empirical researchwe compiled interview guides in order to

"shapeacertainamountofdisciplineintherelevanttopics"(Bryman&Bell,2015:369).

The interview guides were composed with regard to our theoretical framework,

wherebywecategorizedthequestionsunderdifferentthemes,whichwere,gendered

substructures, organizational processes, gendered culture, interaction between

individualsandgenderedidentities.Inaccordancewithourcriticalrealismperspective

thesequestionswerecreatedwiththepurposetodiscoverinwhatwaytheunderlying

genderedstructuresandmechanismsinfluencedourrespondentsonalevelthatwas

visibleforusasresearchers(Jespersen,2004).However,itwascrucialtostartoffthe

interviewsandfocusgroupswithsome"warm-upquestions"tomakeourrespondents

comfortable before we asked questions that required a larger effort from the

respondents (Bryman&Bell, 2015). The interview- and focus group guides followed

thesamepatterneventhoughsomethemeshadtoberephrasedinordertoadaptto

therespondent'srolewithintheorganization.

2.6.3Criticismofprimarysources

SincewemettheparticipantsintheinterviewsandfocusgroupatAlphafacetoface,

wecouldpayattentiontotheirbodylanguage.ThiswasnotthecasewithBetasince

thefocusgroupandinterviewswereconductedthroughSkype.Whenitisnotpossible

toseethebodylanguageofthepersonyoutalktoitishardtoknowwhatquestions

that engaged the respondents themost (Alvehus, 2013).On the other hand, itmay

entailasenseofsecurityandcomfortfortherespondentstobeintheirhomesetting

(ibid).ThefactthattheinterviewandfocusgroupparticipantswerechosenbyaHR-

managerinconsultationwithusmighthaveaddedacertainbiastoourresearchsince

the organizations consciously or subconsciously may have chosen participants with

certain traits or experiences that stress specific aspects or factors within the

organization. However, with regard to the fact that the organizations voluntarily

engagedinourstudy,inorderforthemtobenefitfromparticipating,itisalsointheir

interesttogetafairandtrueviewoftheirorganizationalsituation.

ThefocusgroupinAlphawasconductedinEnglish,whichnotwasthenativelanguage

forthreeoftheparticipants.Thiscanbeseenasanaggravatingcircumstanceforthem

19

inordertoexpressthemselves.However,duetotheirpreviousexpatriateassignments

andinternationalworkenvironmentstheywereusedtospeakEnglishandwedidnot

noticeany specificproblems. The focusgroup inBetaaswell as all other interviews

wasconductedinSwedish,whichmeansthatdirectquotesusedinourthesishadto

be translated into English, which might imply a risk for misunderstandings. In

accordancewiththerecommendationsfromBrymanandBell(2015)wetranslatedall

quotes back to Swedish afterwards, in order to determine that the meaning

unchangedwhentranslated.

Our first ideawas to conduct two focus groups in each organization but it was not

possible due to the lack of female expatriates in both organizations. Also the

circumstancesofareducedfocusgroupinBetathatintheendonlyconsistedoftwo

participants is subject for criticism.However,weconsidered thatdespite this fact, it

was better to go through with the focus group than to cancel it since the busy

schedules of our respondents made it hard to find a time for another session. An

additional point of criticism is the homogeneous locations of our respondents’

stationing.ManyofourrespondentswereplacedinAsiaandonecouldpresumethat

theperceptionsoftheorganizations'behaviormightdifferdependingonwhereinthe

world the expatriate was located. Finally, in order to add more credibility to our

primary sources it would have been desirable if our participating organizations not

were anonymous. This fact is, however, nothing we could control and also not

essentialinordertoanswerourresearchquestion.

2.7Secondarysources

2.7.1Selectionandsample

Wehaveusedsecondarysourcesintermsofbothinternalandexternaldata.Inorder

tocollectbroadstatisticsaboutgenderinorganizationsandgenderequalitywehave

used public investigations conducted by companies owned by the Swedish

government, such as Statistics Sweden. Additionally, we have used reports from

external organizationswith an interest in the topic,whereby Battle of theNumbers

andCartusaretwoexamples.Furthermore,bothcompaniesinourstudyarepublicly

listedwhichmeanswehadaccesstotheirannualreportsaswellastheirhomepages

thatprovidedextensive information.Wehaveused information concerning financial

20

numbers, strategies, challenges and gender distribution statistics from their

homepages. We also received extracts of their specific data concerning gender

distributionandpoliciesforexpatriatesfromthecompanies'HR-departments.

2.7.2Criticismofsecondarysources

Even though the usage of secondary sourcesmade it possible to use data farmore

advancedandextensivethanwecouldcollectourselves,wehadnocontroloverthe

qualityorintentionsofthesecondarydata(Bryman&Bell,2015).Furthermore,there

isalwaysariskthatweasresearchersaretemptedtousesecondarysourcesbecause

oftheiravailabilityinsteadoftheirsuitabilityfortheresearchproblem(ibid).Sincethe

annualreports,policiesandstatisticalfiguresarecompiledinternallythisisofcoursea

critical factor sincewecannotguarantee theiraccuracyor impartiality.Furthermore,

wedidnothaveunlimitedaccesstotheorganizations'internalpoliciesanddata.They

were very careful on whichmaterial and information they could or were willing to

share with us. This is a problem for many researchers (ibid) but since our study's

purposeismostdependentonprimarysources,wedidnotseeitasamajorproblem.

2.8Analysisandinterpretationofdata

According to Esaiassonet al (2007), the linebetween the collectionof data and the

analysis of qualitativematerial is not always distinctive since the reasoning process

often starts already during the gathering of empirical data. Through the study's

deductiveapproach,thiswasalsothecaseinourprocesssincewewereabletostart

theanalysisandreasoninginthelightofourtheoreticalframeworkalreadywhenwe

startedcollectingdata.

However,qualitativeresearchisinterpretativeresearchanditsmissionistocontribute

to further understanding of a phenomena (Alvehus, 2013). To analyze qualitative

research is inmany respects the ability to bring out the essential data of the often

large amount of unstructured empirical findings (Esaiasson, Gilljam, Oscarsson &

Wängerud,2007).Alvehus(2013)statethreeproblemswithqualitativematerial.First

is thechaosproblem; there isnostructure in thecollectedmaterial. Secondlyarises

therepresentationproblem,itisnotpossibletopresentallcollecteddatainthestudy.

Atlastwehavetheauthorityproblem,whatcanwesayaboutpreviousresearchand

thefindingsofourstudy?

21

To deal with these problems the author gives three recommendations of how to

handle the qualitativematerial, assort, reduce and argue (Alvehus, 2013). Following

theserecommendationswestartedoffbyreadingthroughthematerialseveraltimes

and thereafter we could sort it in to different themes. According to Rennstam and

Wästerfors(2015),itisimportanttopayattentiontothethemesthatrepeatedlywere

being subject fordiscussion since these indicates themajor contentof theempirical

material.Ourthemeswerechosenwithregardtothestudy'spurposeandtheoretical

framework, as well as to the new themes that developed during focus groups and

interviews. The themes we chose were: Selection and recruitment process,

repatriation, family & spouse, organizational support, perceived possibilities, role

models, "being a woman in a man's world", career and stereotypes. When the

categorizing of the material was finished, the representation problem was clearly

visible through the large amount of empirical findings. For us it meant that the

materialhad tobeselectedandreduced inaccordance toourpurposeandresearch

questions. Alvehus (2013) discuss the risk of reducing so much material that

contradictionsdisappear,whichoftenarewhat isthemost interestingtoanalyze.As

critical realists this is evenmore important to keep inmind sincewe in accordance

withthisperspective,wantedtoshowmanydifferentviewsof thetopic.At last, the

argumentation is made visible in our analysis, which is based upon both empirical

findingsandtheory,wherebywematchedourtheoreticalframeworkwithoursorted

and reducedempiricalmaterial.Alvehus (2013) remindsusof theauthorityproblem

that might arise when trying to combine empirical findings with the chosen theory

withoutbeingnuancedenough.Thiswillleadtoananalysisthatdoesnotcontributeto

anynewfindings(ibid).Toovercomethisissuetheauthorsuggeststhattheresearcher

should strive for an as fair presentation of the empirical material as possible. In

accordancewiththisrecommendationandwithourcriticalrealismperspectiveinmind

we twisted and turnedon all empirical findings in order tominimize the risk of too

simplifiedexplanations.

22

2.9Qualityofresearch

2.9.1Validity

The validity of a study questions its result with respect to the study's research

question;"Doweinvestigatewhatweaimtoinvestigate?"(Alvehus,2013:122)When

conducting qualitative research there is always a risk that the researcher's own

interpretations influence the study's direction in away that not is entirely unbiased

(Bryman & Bell, 2015). In accordance with the critical realism perspective we have

throughout our study aimed to investigate our chosen field of study in an objective

way(Justesen&Mik-Meyer,2011).However,there'salmostimpossibletodrawexact

analyses of the reality since both the participants and we as researchers are

influenced,notonlyoftheperceptionoftherealitybutalsoofownvalues(ibid).Being

women ourselves, and with a great interest in this subject, there is a risk that we

subconsciouslyhavehadapro-femininestandpointinourwork.AccordingtoAlvesson

and Billing (2009), the most important task for gender researcher is to expose

underlying,genderedsituationsinorganizationsthatclaimtobegenderneutral.With

this approach a risk of "gender hypersensitivity" arises since it is easy to seemany

aspectsofasituationasgenderedeventhoughthatisnotthecentralissueinallcases

(ibid). However, sincewe have been aware of this risk from the beginningwe have

beenabletostopandreflectwhenfeelingthatourdiscussionshavedriftedawayfrom

ourpurpose.

2.9.2Transferability

BrymanandBell (2015)explains the transferabilityofa studyas itsexternalvalidity.

Thatis,cantheresultofthestudybegeneralizedintoothercontexts?(Alvehus(2013)

claimsthatastudythatincludesmorethanonecaseraisesthepossibilitytogeneralize

itsresultsbutthecriticsofqualitativeresearchclaimsthatitisimpossibletogeneralize

findingsofonequalitative study toanother (ibid).Our studyhasbeen following the

guidelines of qualitative research and in accordance with our critical realism

perspective,anunderstandingofthecontext'sinfluencehasbeenimportant(Justesen

&Mik-Meyer,2011).Sincethecontextisimportantfortheresultsofourstudycanthe

transferability not be guaranteed when repeated in other settings (Bryman & Bell,

23

2015).Eventhoughit ispossiblethatthefindingsofourresearchalsoapplytoother

organizations,ourworkmayonlyrepresenttheseparticularorganizations.

2.9.3Reliability

Astudy'sreliabilitymeansthatotherresearcherswouldcometothesameconclusions

iftheywouldrepeatthestudybyusingthesamemethod(Alvehus,2013).Inorderto

shape prospects for following researchers, an extensive description of the study's

approachmustbedemonstrated(Bryman&Bell,2015).Wehavethoroughlydescribed

our approach and motivated our decisions, which makes it possible to repeat our

study.However,sinceourrespondentsareveryinfluencedoftheirorganization,family

situation and the country for the expatriate assignment, the exact same results in

future research would only be possible if conducted with the same respondents.

Nevertheless, despite the variety in our respondents’ background, very similar

statementsandconclusionshavebeenmadeinourfocusgroupsandinterviews,which

strengthenourstudy'sreliability.

2.9.4Ethicalvaluebasis

Whenconductingresearchtherearesituationswhereethicalconsiderationsmustbe

made.Themajorinterestofourthesisistocontributewithknowledgetotheresearch

field of female expatriates but at the same time is the interest of protection and

integrityfortheindividualparticipantscrucial.Aswealreadyhavementioned,gender

researchisasensitivesubjectandeventhoughallnamesarefigureditmightbeclear

for the involved organizations who said what. The participants in our study might

thereforeplacethemselvesinavulnerablepositioniftheyrevealcontroversialfactsor

opinions.Thismakes ithardforustoensurethattheparticipants'opinionsaretheir

own and not what they feel obligated to say. Our impression is, however, that the

participantswerenotanxiousabout this.Wealso feel confident that thecompanies

will treat their employees with respect since it is in their interest to improve their

handlingofexpatriates.

In order to conduct research with a high ethical level we have been following the

recommendationsfromVetenskapsrådet(2011).Therequirementsfortheprotection

oftheindividualcanbeconcludedintofourgeneralrules;requirementofinformation,

requirement of approval, requirement of confidentiality and requirement of usage

24

(Vetenskapsrådet, 2002; own translation). Additionally, Gillham (2008) stresses the

importanceofclarifying inwhatwaytheresearch informationwillhandleanonymity

andsafetyissuesfortheindividual.Inordertoachievetherequirementofinformation

weinformedallparticipantsofthestudy'spurpose.Theyreceivedtheinformationand

examplesofquestionsandthemeswewantedtodiscussduringinterviewsandfocus

groupswellbeforethesessionswerecarriedout.Theywerealsoinadvancedinformed

thattheirparticipationwasvoluntaryandthattheyhadtherighttostoporleavethe

ongoing interview or focus group without giving any reason. To be able to reach

approval between the respondents and us as researchers, we have been striving

towardsopenness and clarity inourwork.Our goalwas that theparticipantswould

feel relaxed and interestedwhen takingpart in our study and therefore it hasbeen

important for us to be very clear with the fact that the participation was strict

voluntary.Therequirementofconfidentialityhasbeenpursuedthroughclarifyingfor

allourparticipantswhataccessrestrictionsourresearchmaterialwillhaveandwhy.

Sincebothparticipatingorganizationschosetobeanonymouswecodedtheirandall

participants'namesalready fromthestart inorder to reducetheriskof recognition.

Wehavealsohandledthecollectedmaterialwithconfidentialitybystoringitinplaces

thatonlywehaveaccessto.Furthermoreweinformedallparticipantsthattheusage

ofthematerialislimitedtoourstudy.

25

3.Theory

The researchwithin the fieldof femaleexpatriatesemanates toagreatextent from

Adler's(1984b)threemythsofwhywomennotwantinternationalcareers.Asmuchas

Adler is considered the founder of female expatriation theory, the research of

gendered organizational theory belongs in many respects to Acker.We find it very

interesting that these two fields of research, with potential to have very much in

common, seemtohavepursuedparallel research. Furthermore,wearearguing that

theeffectsof thenarrowed focusonAdler's (1984b)mythshas resulted in anover-

proportional part of the research focusing explicitly on the female expatriation

process, lackingunderstandingofwhat role a genderedorganizationmighthave. To

combinethesetworesearchfieldswillhopefullyhelpusintheunderstandingofhowa

genderedorganizationmightinfluencefemaleexpatriateswithincorporations.

3.1Genderedsubstructures

Thestructureofanorganizationdescribeshowresponsibility,controlandpowerare

distributed among its participants (Pugh, 1990). Apart from the organizational

structure,everyorganizationalsohasunderlyingstructuresthatarehardertodiscover

and control, so called substructures (Von Eschen, Kirk & Pinard, 1971). Social

identificationtheorydescribessubstructuresbystatingthatdifferentgroupswithinan

organizationcreatetheirowngroup-identity(Peteraf&Shanley,1997).Substructures

are often explained as the basic foundation that supports its superstructure (Von

Eschenetal,1971).Howwellanorganizationperformsisthereforehighlydepending

on its substructures. FollowingKanter's (1977) findingson genderdifferenceswithin

organizationstobearesultoforganizationalstructure,manyscholarstodaytakethe

perspectiveofgendered-organizations insteadofgender-in-organizations, inorder to

highlight the predetermined gendered structures that specific organizations and

professionshave(Alvesson&Billing,2009).Thisimpliesthattoday'sresearchislargely

focused on investigating conceptions and discourses about masculine and feminine

behaviours insteadof focusingonmenandwomenas individuals intheorganization

(ibid). In order to grasp the underlying gendered organizational substructures, it is

important to not only focus on equal opportunities, but also to understand the

existence of unequal practices that are deeply rooted and reproduced in the

26

organizations structure, culture and interaction patterns (Benschop & Doorewaard,

1998).Acker(2012)referstoagenderedorganizationasanorganizationwithbuilt-in

inequalities between men and women depending on underlying, gendered

substructures.Thesegenderedsubstructurescanbefoundinorganizationalprocesses,

cultures, interactions between individuals and gendered identities within the

organization.(Acker,1992b;2012).

3.1.1Organizationalprocesses

Acker(1990;1992b;2012)arguesthatagenderedsubstructureisshapedthroughan

organization'sprocesses,wheretherearebuilt-ininequalitieswhichleadstoagender

segregatedlabormarket.Thesegregationofwomenandmenintheworkforcecanbe

seenfrombothahorizontalandaverticalperspective(Alvesson&Billing,2009).The

horizontal segregation reflects the difference in gender representation between

businessesandischaracterizedbythatwomenareholdingasecondarypositioninthe

labor market (ibid). However, gender imbalance cannot only be seen between

industriesbutalsovertically,withinanindustry.Thedifferencebetweenwomen'sand

men's occupations can be seen, wherebymen tend to hold positions with a higher

level of responsibility and status (Gherardi&Poggio, 2001). The vertical segregation

can be explained through the horizontal since there often are less possibilities to

careeradvancements inbusinesseswherewomenareover represented (Alvesson&

Billing,2009).Eventhoughseveralcountrieshaveintroducedlawsthatforbidalltypes

ofgenderdiscrimination,thesetraditionalmaleandfemaleconsideredindustriesand

occupationsshapeaperception that still todayhasan impactonmanager'sdecision

making (Acker, 2012). Historically it has been argued that inmanymale-dominated

organizations, thedifferentcareerpossibilitiesbetweenmenandwomendependon

thelownumberoffemaleemployeeswithintheorganization(Kanter,1977).Gherardi

and Poggio (2001) oppose this view by pointing to the non-equivalent gender

redistributionofmanagers,eventhoughtherateofwomenenteringmale-dominated

businesseshasincreased.Thisphenomenonisusuallyreferredtoasaglassceilingand

describes a barrier so thin that it is hard to discover, still thick enough to prevent

womenandminoritiestoreachseniormanagementpositions(Morrison&VonGlinow,

1990).

27

Aspreviouslymentioned,internationalexperienceisdesirableandinsomecompanies

evenmandatoryinordertoreachseniormanagementpositions(Altman&Shortland,

2008). Expatriate assignments are often the only way to extract the full value of

multicultural understanding (Insch et al, 2008) but the requirement of international

experiencemightcauseasecondlawyerofglassforwomensincetheyarelesslikelyto

be chosen for expatriate assignments (Forster, 1999). In themiddle of the 90's the

glassceilingtermwastranslatedintotheexpatriateworldasaglassborder(Linehan&

Walsh, 1999). Thiswas a few years after Acker (1990; 1992a; 1992b) presented her

workongenderedorganizations,whichpointstothatfemaleexpatriateresearchhas

been following the organizational gender literature, even though the specific term

gendered organizational theory has not been prominent. One could presume that

Adler (1984b) referred to theglass border already in the 80'swhen she found that

companieswere reluctant to sendwomenon expatriate assignments.However, she

wascarefultonotdrawanyparallelsbetweenthelownumberoffemaleexpatriates

and gendered segregation, or even discrimination within organizations. Hermission

wasto informandtoprovideevidenceratherthantoraisepublicopinion(Altman&

Shortland,2008).Despiteher intentionsand relativelymodestapproachshemadea

great impactonbothpublicandprofessionals.Still todayher findingsmakegrounds

formuchresearch(ibid).

A big difference between the research stemming from gendered organizations,

comparedwith theoneconductedwithin theexpatriate field, is that theresearch in

theexpatriatefieldisrestrainedthroughthelackofpublicnumericalstatistics.Thishas

madeitdifficulttodrawconclusionsandcomparehorizontalandverticalsegregation

amongandwithinbusinesses.Therearenodefinitegenderstatisticsbutaccordingto

Organization Resources Counselors (2005), women range from about 30 % in non-

profitandcharitysectors toas lowas6% inconstructionandengineering.Statistics

that showwhat typesof positions expatriatesheldwithin the companybefore their

assignmentarescarcebutverticalsegregationwithintheorganization,wherewomen

tend tohold inferior positions thanmen, canbe seenasoneof theexplanationsof

women'sexclusionfromexpatriateassignments(ibid).

28

3.1.2Genderedculture

Anorganization'scultureconsistsofunspokenassumptionscreatedandevolvedinthe

organizationovertimeandcanbedividedintovisibleandhiddenfactors(Alvesson&

Billing,2009).Schein(1990)referstothreelevelsoforganizationalculture:Observable

artifacts,valuesandbasicunderlyingassumptions.Artifactsaretheonlyvisiblepartof

thecultureandrepresenteverythingphysical,suchasdresscode,symbols,language,

annual reports and not least, the actual products or services offered by the

organization.Valuesofanorganization imply itsnorms, ideologiesandphilosophies.

Evendeeperhiddenarethebasicunderlyingassumptions,oftenunconsciousalsofor

the organization itself (ibid). Moreover, Acker's (1992b) definition of a gendered

organizationalculturedoesnotdifferinsubstancefromSchein's(1990)descriptionof

organizational culture. However, she makes the important addition of gender by

defining a gendered culture as: The “creation of symbols, images, and forms of

consciousnessthatexplicate,justify,and,morerarely,opposegenderdivisions”(Acker,

1992b:253).

Agenderedorganizationalcultureis, just likeeveryorganizationalculture, influenced

by the larger, surrounding culture in form of business practice and politics. (Acker,

2012).Pfau-Effinger(1998)referstothisimpactasthenormsandvaluesthatexistin

every modern society, with the goal to achieve a desirable behavior for men

respectively women. According to Alvesson and Billing (2009), the perception of

masculineandfemininevaluesvariesbetween,andalsowithindifferentsubculturesin

an organization. Nevertheless, researchers have identified several types of typical

feminine and masculine characteristics within organizations whereby authority,

paternalism, entrepreneurship and careerism are considered masculine traits

(Collinson&Hearn,1994),whilesupportiveness,collaborationandsensitivityareseen

as typical female traits (Heilman, Wallen, Funchs, & Tamkins, 2004). Davidson and

Cooper(1992)pointsoutthemanagerialsubculturetobethemostobviousexample

of a gendered organizational culture due to the low numbers and status of female

managersinmostorganizations.Wilson(2001)arguesthatallorganizationsaremore

orlessgenderedintheircultureandthatthemajorityofthemareleaningtowardsa

masculineculture.

29

According to Shortland's (2009) review of the existing research in the female

expatriate area, the importance of the organizational culture has not been deeply

investigated.However,thenationalculturehasbeensubjectofinvestigationthrough

Adler's second myth; the belief that foreigners are prejudiced against female

managers.Thismythhasbeenfurtherexaminedlateronandmodernresearch,which

takes the host country national perspective, shows that female expatriates are

perceived as professionals above all and first thereafter, their gender is perceived

(Tung, 2004). Furthermore, Tung (2004) argues thatorganizations' attitudes towards

femaleexpatriatesmustchange,sincewomenmightbebettersuitedforinternational

managementpositionsthanmen.Thisassertionstemsfromresearchshowingthatthe

typical feminine leader style helps women to integrate with people from different

cultures in a better way (ibid). Even though there has not been a focus on the

organizational culture in previous expatriate research, the gendered organizational

culturedopossiblyaffect theexpectationsofwhoandhowanexpatriateshouldbe.

Sinceexpatriateswithinmostorganizationshistoricallyhavebeenmen,thelackofrole

models for female employees has created a perceived picture of an expatriate as a

man(Altman&Shortland,2008).

3.1.3Interactionsbetweenindividuals

West and Zimmerman (1987) are arguing for that gender is not something we are.

Instead theyexplain thatgender is "beingdone" throughongoingachievementsand

interactionswithinorganizations.Toillustratethe"doingofgender"theauthorspoints

tohowgenderisdonethroughconversations(West&Zimmerman,1983).Bystudying

interruptions inconversations theydiscovered that inconversationsbetweenpeople

of the same sex therewere very few interruptions among participants. However, in

groups with mixed sexes, men were found to initiate a superior majority of the

interruptions(ibid).Acker(1990)supportsthefindingsofWestandZimmerman(1983)

byclaimingthatgenderedsubstructuresofanorganizationareshapedandreproduced

through the interaction between its individuals. Deutsch (2007) proceed fromWest

andZimmerman’s (1987) researchwhenarguing that if gender is constructed, it can

also be deconstructed. Furthermore, Deutsch (2007) criticizeWest and Zimmerman

(1987) by claiming that their focus on "doing gender" leads to the creation of

30

differences instead of deleting them and a perception of gender inequality as

impossible to avoid. Shaw (2001) argues that acts of resistance can change the

constructionofgenderroles.Forexample,agirl's joiningofaboys’hockeyteamcan

havefurtherconsequencesthanjustfortheindividualitself.Otherpeopleseeingthe

girl interactwiththeboys’teammightchangetheirconceptionofgender, leadingto

an undoing of gender (ibid). However, Acker (2012) points out sexuality as a

conformation of gender difference and as an aggravating circumstance in order to

achievefunctioningworkrelationsandgenderequalityintheorganization.

Adler (1984a) reported that companies failed to include their female managers in

expatriate discussions since they thought that women would not be interested

anyway, mostly due to prejudice from foreigners. Even though this myth has been

proven to be incorrect, women are to some extent still excluded from expatriate

opportunitiesduetotheir lackofsocialnetworks (Inschetal,2008).Sincemenhold

mostpositions in topmanagement, informalactivities likegolfordinnersaremostly

attended by men. Expatriate candidates are according to the authors often chosen

fromtheseinformalnetworkssincemanagementtendstopickpeopletheyknowand

trust(ibid).Furthermore,accordingtoAlvessonandBilling(1994)dowomenandmen

differinhowtheylookupontheirchancesforajob;womentendtoapplywhenthey

fulfill all of the qualification requirements or evenmore than that,whilemenmore

oftenapplyiftheyfulfillsomeofthemandreasonassuchthattheywilllearntherest

alongtheway.

A perception of gender equality tends to be the general perception in many

organizations although inequalities in the selection process still exist. In order to

advancewithintheorganization,"theimportanceofbeingasked"iscrucialaccording

to Benschop and Dooreward (1998). On the paper,most positionsmay seem to be

open to "everyone" but in reality, someemployeesmaybe askedor encouraged to

applytoacertainmissionorposition(ibid).HarrisandBrewster(1999)claimthatmost

companies are using the so-called "Coffee-machine system" in order to select

expatriates.Thisreferstoasituationwhereexpatriatecandidatesaresuggestedbased

onchitchatswithseniormanagersbythecoffee-machine.Throughthecoffee-machine

system the selectionprocesswill be very fastbut thepossibility for the company to

31

take a strategic approach on expatriate assignments is decreased, as well as the

chancesforwomentobeselected(ibid.)Toovercomethisobstacle,Inschetal(2008)

stresses the importance of awareness of potential gender biases already in

organizations'selectionprocessesforexpatriateassignments.

3.1.4Genderedidentities

The first three aspects of gendered substructures in combination with prior

experiencesoftheindividualleadstoafourthone;theindividual'schoiceofidentityas

it understands the structure and expectations of its organization (Acker, 1992b).

Kanter(1977)describesthreefactors,crucialforhowemployeeslookuponthemselves

and their development within an organization: The structure of possibilities, the

structureofpowerandtherelativerepresentationofaparticularsocialgroupintheir

position.Throughtheseperceptions,genderedidentitiesareshapedalthoughtheycan

changewith time and experience (ibid). Dye andMills (2012) are skeptical towards

Kanter (1977)andAcker's (1992b)theoriesofgendered identitiesbyquestioningthe

practicalpossibilitytolookintoindividuals'mindsinordertodiscovertheirarranging

ofgenderedsubstructuresthatleadstoconstructionsofgenderedidentities.

Furthermore,modernresearchclaimsthateventhoughwetodaymightconsiderour

organizationstobegenderneutraltheyarestillgendered(Acker,2012).Acker(2012)

exemplifies this through the "abstractworker"who is expected atwork at a certain

time in themorning, towork a certainnumberofhours, neverbeingabsent and to

finish all the assignedworkduring thehours of aworkingday.At a first glance this

appears to represent quite normal working conditions and not especially gendered.

However,eventhoughmuchhaschangedduringpastdecades,today'stypicalworking

daystillderive fromthe ideaof themanbeing the family'sbreadwinner,meanwhile

his wife is taking care of all unpaid housework (Shortland, 2009). A woman will

therefore faceabigger challenge toobtain thework-lifebalancewhen incorporated

intothemaleorganization(Acker,2012).Likewise,thisabstractworkerrepresentthe

traits and lifestyle that many employers expect of an employee and who thus

subconsciouslymightpreferamantoawomaninordertoeliminatepotentialrisksof

for example absenteeism due to pregnancy (ibid). Furthermore, women's career

32

possibilitiestendtobe lowersincetheusualcareerstepswithinorganizationsfollow

thepathoftheabstractworker(Benschop&Dooreward,1998).

Beingawomanina"man'sjob"isoftenseenasthe"prideandjoy"ofthecompany,as

the symbol or living proof of gender equality and as an indication saying that the

organizationisontherighttrack.Womeninhighpositionsareoftenreferredtoasrole

models that will inspire other women to strive for the same position. However,

researchsuggeststhatbeingatoken1doesnothavethesamedrawbackformenasfor

women(Benschop&Doorewaard,1998).Toafemalepoliceofficerhergendercanbe

ahindrancemeanwhileamalenursemayexperienceadvantagesandprofit fromhis

gender. A woman striving for a higher "male" position must break barriers and

boundaries inorder tomeet the requirementsof theabstractor idealworker. They

must live up to high expectations and being in the spotlight or a "show piece" also

entails a lot of attention, jealousy andhigh expectations to live up to,whichmakes

themmorevulnerableintheirpositionsandforcedtoworkharderandinvestmorein

theirworkthanaman(ibid).

In female expatriate research, Adler (1984b) claims that a big obstacle for female

expatriates is the lack of female role models and the stereotyping of expatriate

assignments as male professions. In accordance with Adler's (1984b) findings,

BenschopandDoorewaard (1998)suggests thatmembersof themajorityofagroup

areseenas individuals,whilebeinginminority,oneindividual'sactionsandbehavior

will reflect upon all members of the minority. Summarizing, women that hold

expatriatepositions,whichnormallyareseenas"male"positions,areseenastokens

orshowpieces(ibid).

Theperceptionofexpatriateassignmentshaschangedover the last coupleofyears.

BonacheandPla-Barber(2005)claimthateventhoughinternationalexpertiseisever

more important for companies, there's a trend of organizations attempting to

decreasetheirnumbersofexpatriatesduetohighexpensesandincreasedsafetyrisks

in the surrounding world. To be able to cope with the increased need of global

managers, cheaper and less risky alternatives to expatriation such as shorter-term1Tokenactionsaredonetoshowthatyouaredoingsomething,eveniftheresultsarelimitedintheireffect(CambridgeDictionary).

33

assignmentsandfrequentflyerareintroducedinmanycompanies(Hutching,Liriob&

Metcalfec,2012).Thesereducedbenefitpackagesandlesssecurecareershaslowered

employees' interest inexpatriateassignmentsandfollowingqueuingtheory,"next in

line is next to be served", an increase of female expatriates would be predicted

(Shortland, 2009). However, queuing theory does not seem to be applicable on

expatriateassignmentssincetheparticipationofwomenincreaseveryslowly(ibid).

3.2Genderedsubtext

Inordertobetterunderstandandfindtheunderlyinggenderedsubstructures,Smith

(1989)introducedthegenderedsubtext,whichisexplainedasthecomplexityofbuilt

inadministrativeandmanagerialfactorsthatgovernsandregulatesoursocietiesand

organizations.Thegenderedsubtext isevensubtlerthanthegenderedsubstructures

and are therefore harder to discover (Benschop & Dooreward, 1998). Acker (2012)

sees"thegendersubtextasapartof thegenderedsubstructure,butnot its totality"

Acker (2012:217).Todivide thegendersubtext fromthegenderedsubstructure, she

uses the notion gender subtext for policies, metaphors, descriptions and common

practices that contribute to the organization's gendered processes and structures

(Acker,2012).

Bendl (2008) identifies several different types of gendered subtexts. The first one is

Subtext of unconscious exclusion and neglect, which implies that research,

organizational textsanddocumentations,unconsciouslyarebiasedtowardsmenand

excludeorneglectwomen.Furthermore,Subtextofattributedmasculinityandmales

asthenormidentifieswomenastheexception,valuingmales’conceptionsasanorm

withhighervalue.This isdemonstratedalsoinAcker’s(2012)abstractworkerwhois

underpinned by a normative male subtext, which reproduces masculine-oriented

valuesinorganizations.ThethirdSubtextofwomenas"theother"focusmoreonthe

reproduction of women being "the other" thenmen being the norm. For example,

women are, even when in managerial positions enacting and adapting to

"malestream" conditions, still seen as "the other". Furthermore, Subtext of

feminization implies that by naming something feminine, one challenges roles and

positionsthatnormallyareconsideredtobegenderneutraltoactuallybemasculine.

At last, Subtextofpretendedequalitybetweenmalesand females refers to research

34

that,onthecontrary,stressestypicallyfemaletraitstobebetterthanmaletraits.The

authorclaimsthatthiswouldnotcreategenderequalitybutratherturnthehierarchy

around, givingadvantages towomenandputtingmen in aminorityposition (Bendl,

2008).

Alvesson and Billing (2009) raise a warning for the risk of stating impact and

consequences from potential gendered subtexts before having deeper knowledge

about the local context, the organization and its employees' feelings, thoughts and

reactions. Subtexts might be considered gendered and therefore unequal from

researchers'pointofviewbutarenotnecessarilybeingperceivedinthesamewayby

employeeswithintheorganization(ibid).

3.3Summaryoftheoreticalframework

Figure3.1.Thegenderedorganization(Authors'illustration)

Every organization has its own gendered substructures, which can be found in the

organization's processes, culture, interaction between individuals and gendered

identities(Acker,1992;2012).

Whenlookingatanorganization'sprocesses,bothhorizontalandverticalsegregation

isoftenclearlyvisible;menandwomentendtowork indifferent industriesandalso

within the same organization, women and men usually work within different areas

35

(Alvesson & Billing, 2009). Furthermore, an organization's gendered culture can be

definedasthe“creationofsymbols,images,andformsofconsciousnessthatexplicate,

justify, and,more rarely, oppose gender divisions” (Acker, 1992b: 253).However, an

organization'sgenderedsubstructuresarenot shaped in isolation, it is influencedby

thesurroundingsocietywithitsprevailingbusinesspracticesandpolitics(Acker,2012).

Intheinteractionbetweenanorganization'sindividuals,WestandZimmerman(1987)

arguethatgenderisbeingdone.Atlast,theindividual’sidentityisshapedthroughthe

perceivedpossibilitieswithintheorganization(Kanter,1977).

Thesegenderedsubstructuresare influencedby theorganization'sgenderedsubtext

and vice versa. Together they influence all decisions and actions by mediating a

preferredviewofwhatiscommonpracticewithintheorganization(Acker,2012).

36

37

4.Empiricalfindings

In order to get a better understanding of the empirical findings we start off by

introducingthecurrentbusinesssituationinbothcompanies.Atthemoment,Alpha's

industry is experiencing a downturn; sales are low and themain part of the profits

steamfromtheirservicedivision.Thedifficulttimesarealsoreflecteduponthestaff;

newhiresandrecruitsarerare.Undernormalcircumstances,personnelareoffereda

variety of internal training and courses but these opportunities are limited at the

moment. The decrease in demand also reflects upon the availability of expatriate

assignments. In2015thecompanyhad17%womenintheirworkforce,17%female

managersand12%femaleexpatriates(Alpha,2016)

Onthecontrary,Betasawanincreaseindemandduring2015andthenearbyfuture

lookspromisingwith a strengthenedposition towards competitors and a 16% sales

growth. With new orders on new markets, Beta's CEO stresses the importance of

presenceonnewmarketsandtointensifyinternationalworkinordertomeetmarket

demand.ThisindicatesthatBetawillseeanincreaseofexpatriates,operatingonboth

newandoldmarkets.In2015,23%ofthetotalworkforcewerewomen;theyheld27

% of the managerial positions and the company had 5 % female expatriates (Beta,

2016).

4.1Therecruitingprocess–transparentorbiased?

BothAlphaandBeta state that theyaccording to their companypolicyannounceall

expatriatepositions and then it is up to the individual employee toapply.However,

theimpressionwehavebeengivenisthatAlphafollowstheirpolicytoeveryextent,

while Beta seems to use the policy as a guideline, rather than a rule. A recruiting

manager at Beta explains that under the right circumstances she would definitely

encouragesomeonetoapplytoapositionifshethoughttheemployeewassuitableor

wishedtogo.Meanwhile,onerecruitingmanageratAlphaexplainsthathewouldput

himself ina trickysituationbyencouragingsomeonetoapply toaposition. Itwould

raise the hopes and expectations of the employee, and therefore, unless he was

extremelycertain that this employeewas thebest suited for theposition, hewould

avoidittoeveryextentpossible.

38

ThefocusgroupinAlphaholdtheopinionthattheywouldnotwanttobeselectedtoa

position on other grounds than their skills and qualifications. Still, they state that

coachingorencouragementwouldbeagoodwaytomotivateeventhough,intheend,

itisalwaysuptotheindividualitself.Theydescribethecompanycultureasbasedon

the idea that "If youwant something, youhave to fight for it". It is up to each and

everyone's own motivation and determination how high you reach, no one will

promoteyouoraskyoutogoonanexpatriatemission.Youhavetoapply internally

whether it concerns training, promotions, projects or expatriate assignments.

However, thispointofview isnotentirelysharedbya femaleexpatriateonasenior

positioninAlpha.Inheropinion,thedecisionofwhomtohireisverymuchuptowho

the recruiting manager is. She believes that despite her capabilities, a part of the

reasontowhysheobtainedtherolewasbecausetherewereveryfewapplicants.Her

maincompetitorwasaFrenchmanthatbarelycouldspeakEnglish,arequirementfor

theposition.

"SinceI'venotbeenatAlphaforsomanyyears,automaticallywhenIapply

for a position, I am unknown, one doesn't recognize my name and that

makesmyoptionsverylimitedsinceIcompetewithpeoplethatknoweach

otherthroughdifferentnetworks[…]EventhoughI'vedoneagoodjobfor

threeyearsnow,it'sstillonlyasmallgroupofpeoplewhoknowswhoIam"

-JJ,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha.

She also refers to a former expatriate colleague who now changed to another

company since he could not find a new job on the internal job market after his

contractexpired.Heexperiencedthattherecruitersalreadyknewwhosheorhewas

looking for and that the "open application process" is nothing but a charade. This

statement is supported by another female employee at Alpha who comments the

advertisementsforexpatriateslikethis:

"There are a lot of positions posted on the international jobmarket and

theyareallkindofwrittenasifyoualreadyknowtheposition"

-HH,Femaleemployee,Alpha

39

Howmuch knowledge you have of expatriate assignments is according to a female

expat in Alpha depending on themanager you have. In order to increase women's

awarenessofexpatriateassignments,theHRrepresentativeatAlphasuggestthatthey

couldinformandopenupforadiscussionearlyonintheiremployment.Butasalways

atAlpha,itisuptotheindividualtoapplyintheend,"wedon'tencouragewomento

apply, it's the same for everyone" (LL).Another recruitingmanager agrees by saying

thatofcoursetherearethingstheorganizationcoulddoinordertoencouragewomen

toapplytoexpatriateassignments.

"But I'm a bit against that, I want it to be the right person. We are

supposed towrite the adds so that they attract everyone […] If they feel

thatno,nowthey're lookingforawoman inthisposition, then I think it's

forthewrongpurpose.Butthemainproblemforusisthattheindustryisso

dominatedbymen."

-KK,Recruitmentmanager,Alpha

At Beta, onemale expatriate explains that he had good contact with his boss who

knewthathehadaninterestinworkingabroad.Whenanopportunitycameuponthe

internaljobmarketinAustralia,hisbosswhoknewmoreofwhatwasgoingonbehind

thecurtainsencouragedhimtoapply.Accordingtothismaleexpatriate,thejobadson

theAustralianmarketarenormallynotvisibleforemployeesoutsideofAustraliasince

theyhaveadifferentdatasystem.Soundingabituncomfortableheadded:

"I thinkor Iampretty sure thathe,myboss talked to the recruitingboss

overthere,soitwaswell...Yeah..Mm...."

-DD,Maleexpatriate,Beta

A femaleemployeeatBetawasabouttochangecompanyafterworkingmanyyears

fortheorganizationwhenanexpatriateopportunitycameup.Atafirstglanceshedid

not understand that shewas able to apply to the assignment butwhen a colleague

withasimilarbackgroundreceivedtheofferbutturneditdown,sheapplied.Shehad

the expat position rewritten according to her wishes since the assignment was on

inferior level in accordance to the position she held at the time. She expresses her

thoughtsassuch:

40

"Many jobs that I'vebeenrecruited to,well Ihope ithasbeenbasedon

competencebut Iwouldn'tbesurprised if Iwasselectedbecause Iama

woman,Iwouldsayit'squiteeasytomakeacareerasawomanatBeta

now."

-AA,Femaleexpatriate,Beta

Ayoungerwomaninthesameorganizationexpressesthatshehaslittleknowledgeof

the recruitmentprocessofexpatriatesbut that shehas indicatedher interest inher

personalcareerdevelopmentdiscussionsandexpectshermanagertogiveahintwhen

asuitableassignmentcomesup.ArecruitingmanageratBetasaysthatingeneralitis

not easy to get people to apply tomissions abroad since it is quite a big deal for a

wholefamilytomoveabroad. Inorderto increasetheamountof femaleexpatriates

theyarealwaystakingacloserlookontheirapplicationsiftheyreceivesome.

4.2Repatriation–anxietyornewpossibilities?

Alpha is characterizedbynotworkingwith careerplanningand theirexpatriatesare

notguaranteedapositionwithinthecompanyupontheirreturntothehomecountry.

Hence, when you leave for an expatriate assignment, you let go of your current

positioninthehomeorganizationandyoudonotknowwhatpositionyouwillbeable

togetwhenyoureturnafewyearslaterorwhateconomicsituationthecompanywill

bein.Sixmonthsinadvanceoftheexpirationoftheexpatriatecontract,theexpatis

supposed to actively start looking for jobs at Alpha´s internal job poolwith support

from the organization. According to the company policy, you are guaranteed a

placementintheorganizationforsixmonthsafterthatyourcontracthasexpiredbutif

you have not found a suitable placement by then you are left without any

employment.

“We have a contract saying that 6months before the contract ends, a

discussion should be initiated. The president is responsible but I had no

talks.Imean,startoffwithlivinguptothecontract,Ithinkthat’snumber

one.”

-II,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

41

Withanindustryinrecession,thefocusgroupparticipantsseemtodoubttheliability

of theorganization. If you takeonanexpat contractwhen the industry ishavingan

upturnandthenyourcontractexpireinadownturnyoumightendupwithoutajob.

Wearegivenanexampleofanemployeeonahighpositionintheorganization,which

uponreturntoSwedencouldnotfindanavailableandappropriatepositionandthen

leftthecompanyandwashiredbyacompetitor.Thisisnotadesirablesituationsince

the company lost competence and knowledge, which on top of that also was

transferredtoacompetitor.

"I think it’s an issue that you are not guaranteed a job after the expat

assignment.When wemoved we had a trust in the company, that they

wouldtakecareofyouandtheywouldfindgoodsolutionswhenyoucome

back.Butnowinseveraloccasions,sincethereduction,wehaveshownthat

wearenottakingthatresponsibility”AndIknowit’snotonlymethinking

thisway."

-II,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

Toendupwithoutjobwhenyouhaveafamilytosupportisaprominenttopicinthe

focus group at Alpha. Many upset feelings aroused while discussing this and it is

suggestedthatiftheorganizationwouldwantpeopletogoonexpatassignmentsand

to keep themobility, the organization should offer some kind of employment upon

return, not necessary the sameposition asbeforebut something as a security for a

longerperiodthansixmonths.

“Ifyousendoutsomeone thatyoudon’twantback I thinkyouchose the

wrongcandidate.Iguessyouwanttotakethemhomeandgrowtheminto

anewposition,whywouldyouotherwiseselectthem?"

-HH,Femaleemployee,Alpha

Thatyouhavedeliveredgoodresultsasanexpatriatedoesnotmeanthatyoucanfeel

safeaboutyourfuture.Thefemaleexpatriatethatcurrentlyisabroaddoesnotknow

whatherfuturewilllooklike.Eventhoughsheisonahighpositionandsheknowsthat

theorganizationissatisfiedwithwhatsheproducedduringherassignmentsheisnot

42

surethatshewillfindajobwhenherexpatriatecontractexpires,whichcausesalotof

stressandworry.

"There'snothingIcangohometo,Iaminalittlerubberboatontheocean,

tryingtofindlandsomewhere.."

-JJ,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

Contrary to Alpha, the expats in Beta keep their employment within the company

whengoingonanexpatriateassignment.However,theyarenotguaranteedthesame

positionastheyhadwhentheyleftorpromisedaparticularpositionuponreturn.This

maysometimesbeaproblemforBetaincasetheexpectationsofanemployeearenot

correspondingtothecompany's.

As earlier mentioned, the industry Beta is operating within is booming and the

company does therefore experience a great upturn at the moment. The male

expatriate experienced that therewere plenty of jobs and positions to choose form

upon return. Supported by the organization, he applied for new positionswhen his

expatcontractwasabouttoexpire.

AnotherformerexpatatBetasays:

"I knew that I wouldn't find an as exiting job [as abroad; own

interpretation]when I came home. The organization supportedme and I

don'tknowifIgotthejobbecause,wellpartlybecausetheyweresupposed

tosupportmyreturnbutIendedupwiththejobIappliedforandwanted,

soIthinkthatthecompanyhasbeensupportive."

-AA,Femaleexpatriate,Beta

AsonAlpha,thefocusgroupatBetaconcludesthatuponthereturntoSwedenoneof

thebiggestorganizational challenges for theorganizationwas to re-integrate former

expatriatesinthehomecountryagain.Theyrecognizethatjobsecurityandtheanxiety

ofwhat ishappeningnextare themain reasons towhyemployees ingeneralwould

hesitatetoapplytoexpatriateassignments.Beta'schallengesaretoretainemployees

andbeabletouseandtakeadvantageoftheirnewcompetencesandexperiences.In

case the repatriatedexpatriatesdonot find theirnewposition tobeagood fit, it is

43

quite a big risk for the organization since an unstimulated employeemight look for

newcareerpathsinanothercompany.

4.3Theexpatriateassignment–acareerboost?

In both companies, experience fromworking abroad is an advantage for employees

aiming for higher positions even though none of the organizations state it as an

absolute requirement. However, none of our respondents stated that they went

abroadwith themainpurpose toboost their careers. Themajoritywentbecauseof

personalreasons;toliveandworkabroadwassomethingtheyhadstrivedtowardsfor

a long time. A recruitment manager at Alpha states that it is very important with

international experience in order to climb higher, especially when working within

marketingandsales.Hethinksthattheemployeeswithinthoseareasareawareofthis

butdoesnotknowhowmuchtheyknowinotherdepartments.Whenspeakingtothe

femaleexpatriatesatAlphawhowentabroadwithintheproductionareatheysaythat

they do not think it has been particularly beneficial for them, but if they had been

expatriateswithinmarketing and sales, theywould have taken bigger steps in their

careers.Oneraisedopinionisthatmeningeneralaremorecareerfocusedwhengoing

abroad,theyknowthatiftheywanttobepromoted,anexpatriateassignmentcould

bethewaytothetop.

TheformerexpatswetalkedtoatBetaclaimthattheydon'tthinkthattheygottheir

newpositionswithinthecompanyonlybecausetheyhadbeenexpatriatesbutthatit

certainly could have been a contributing factor. The junior employee thinks that it

wouldbeveryuseful inhercareertohaveworkedasanexpatriateeventhoughher

primarymotivationwouldbepersonal.TherecruitmentmanageratBetaexpressesher

pointofview:

"Wearenottellingourexpatriates: '-Youaregoingbecause it'sastep in

yourcareer.'Butthenitcouldstillbelikethat,implicitly."

-EE,Recruitmentmanager,Beta

44

4.4Theimportanceofnetwork

TheHRdepartmentatAlphathinksitisveryimportanttogivesupporttorepatriated

expatriates so they can become ambassadors for other employees and inspire and

raisetheinterestforexpatriateassignments.However,thereisnoexpatriatenetwork

or mentorship program for expatriates within the organization. According to the

recruitmentmanagerwespoketo,Alphais:

"...a big workplace but everyone do more or less keep track of what

everyone is doing. The best commercial for expatriate assignments is of

coursewhenwecanrefertosomeonewhohasreturnedhomeandwhohas

beenabletotakethenextstepinthecareer"

-KK,Recruitmentmanager,Alpha

WhentalkingtofemaleexpatsinAlphatheystatethatinordertofindpeopletotalkto

aboutexpatriateassignmentsitisallbasedoncontacts.Onefemaleexpat,currentlyin

theendofherassignment,didnotknowmanyfemaleexpatsbeforegoing.However,

she hopes that she can inspire other women to work abroad by showing that it is

possible,asawomanandwithafamily.Thewomaninterestedofworkingabroad in

thefuturesays;"Inmyposition,wantingtogoabroad,Ikeeptrackofwhoisabroad"

(HH).

AlsoinBetathereisnoofficialnetworkforexpatriatesandtherecruitmentmanager

herehasthesameperspectiveasAlphawhentalkingaboutrolemodels:

"For every woman you see that goes on an expatriate assignment, both

fromBeta'sperspective,thatweactuallysendher,butalsothatshemakes

itworkwith her family, I think that creates a positive picture. And that's

oftenthecase;ifshecan,Ican.Youcompareyourselfwithothers"

-EE,Recruitmentmanager,Beta

The former female expats in Beta stresses the importance of each other’s support

whilebeingabroad:

45

"Youcansay likethis–there isnoofficialmentorshipprogramorprocess

butBBandIhavebeenmentoringeachother.Youareveryaloneoutthere,

evenifyouhaveotherexpatstherearenootherwomen."

-AA,Femaleexpatriate,Beta

4.5Beingafemaleexpat–anon-issueoranobstacle?

Duringthefocusgroupsitwasobviousthattheparticipatingwomenpreferrednotto

talkabouttopicsthatwererelatedto"difficultiesofbeingawoman".Oneparticipant

evenpointedoutthatwehadn'ttalkedmuchaboutbeingawoman,andshethoughtit

would have been no difference if it only had been men in the focus group. She

suggestedthatmaybethat'sanindicatorssaying;beingfemaleandexpatriateisnota

problem!

ThiswasarecurrentthemethroughoutthefocusgroupsinbothinAlphaandBeta;the

over all perception was that there is no difference between female and male

expatriates while in the organization. Many of our respondents thought that the

experiencesaremuchmoreconnectedtowhoyouareasaperson,ratherthanifyou

areamanorawoman.

Inbothorganizations,thetypicalexpatriateisdescribedasamarketingguy.Onejunior

respondentinBetathinksthatthestereotypeisamiddle-agedmanthatmovesabroad

withhisfamily.Thisperceptionisnotsomethingthatwouldinfluenceherdecision,but

since this stereotype influences what kind of social connections you can get while

beingabroad, itcanbehardtotakeonanexpatriateassignment ifmostexpatriates

are"thesame"andyouarenot.Sheestimatesherchancestoworkasanexpatriateas

prettyhighbutbelievesthataslongasthecompanymostlysendsenioremployeesitis

hardtoincreasethepercentageoffemaleexpatriatessincemenareover-represented

onseniorpositionswithinthecompany.Inordertoraisethemobilityamongwomen

shethinksthatBetamustworkmoredynamicallywiththeirinternationalassignments

byofferingothertypesofcontracts,likeshort-termcontractsandprojectassignments.

She thinks the key to attractmorewomen is toworkwith diversity instead of only

focusingonthegenderquestion.Thefactthatgenderequalityisfrequentlydebatedin

Swedish organizations is discussed among many of our participants. The junior

46

employee in Beta says that it is a very big subject particularly in Sweden and that

people in other countries think that we are too focused on gender and that we

thereforeareblindforthefactthatequalityissomuchbiggerthanthat.AlsoinAlpha

these thoughts are discussed; "We are obsessed with gender in Sweden " (HH).

However, even though many of the participants seemed to look upon the gender

questionasanon issue, thechallenges forwomenwhenmoving toanothercountry

andculturewasacentraltopicinthediscussions.

"WhenI firstmetwithseniormanagement,brandnew,fromSwedenand

thefirstwomaninamanagementposition[…]oneofthemalecolleagues

looks atme and says: 'Welcome to Switzerland, but what are you doing

here?Youcannotdothisjob.'Iguessitwastoomuchforthem,beingboth

Swedishandawoman."

-JJ,femaleexpatriate,Alpha

Moreover,thiskindofsituationsisbymanyofourparticipantsstatedas"notunique

for the expat situation". When the participants in Alpha were asked if female

expatriatesexperiencemorepressureandneed tobemore committed thenmen in

ordertosucceedasexpatriates,theyhadthesamereasoning:"Idon’tthinkthathas

anythingtodowithexpats,Ithinkthat’sjustingeneral"(HH)"and"theonesthattake

thestepareverycommittedbutIgetthefeelingit’seasiertotakethatstepforaman

butI’mnotsure"(II).Wearealsogivenanexamplefromoneofthefemaleexpatriates

inBeta thatwas in India. Shementionsa situationwhereamaleexpatriatewithout

familyorspouse,wasverywelltakencareofandpamperedbythecompanyuponhis

arrival,atreatmentsheneverexperiencedherself"asawoman".

ThejunioremployeeatBetathathasnotbeenonanexpatriateassignmentsofarbut

stillhavea lotofexperience fromworkingand livingabroadsays thatshehasnever

experienced any downside from often being the only woman in male-dominated

environments.Rathertheotherwayaround;"Youeasilystandoutfromthecrowdand

thereforeIthinkit'seasiertogetrecognition.Ifyouknowhowtouseit,itcangiveyou

advantages"(CC).

47

Amaleexpat inBetaexperiencedtheonly femaleexpatriateonhis location tohave

moredifficultieswithmakingher voiceheard. If thatwasdependingonherbeinga

woman or on her personality he found hard to judge. "I talked to her about these

thingsbutshesaidshehadneverexperiencedanythingnegativeagainsther"(DD).

4.6Theexpatriateassignment–designedformenwithhousewives?

According to the recruiting managers in both organizations spouse or family

accompaniesthemajorityoftheirexpatriates.Thiswasalsothecaseforallbutoneof

our participants. In both companies was the importance of the family support

discussedandseenasthekeytosucceedwiththeassignment:"Ifitdoesn'tworkwith

thefamily,youwillnotperformonthejob"(II).

The spouse is a central topic in the focus groups. One female expat at Beta

experienced that a lot of spouses panicked over their own career, feeling that they

laggedbehindandlostnetworksduringthetimetheywereaway.Also,thefactthatan

accompanying partner must give up income and pension in the home country is

perceived as a big obstacle. Depending on the possibilities to get a working-visa,

country regulationsandthespouse'sprofession, thespouse’soccupation in thehost

county varieda lot. Some successfully foundemployment in thehost-country, some

studied,but themajoritywerehome, taking careof thehousehold,withorwithout

kids.

ManyoftheexpatriatesthathadtheirplacementsoutsideofEuropetalkedaboutthe

expatcommunityasitwaslikeasecondfamily.Theonesthathadchildrenattending

schoolexperiencedthata lotof thecontacts theywereabletomakewere linkedto

the school. In international schools parents are often expected to be involved in

activities,which ispossible, since the spousemostoften is athome.However,most

networks and daytime activities are "typically forwomen". Thewomen in our focus

groupsdeliberatedthistopicandquestioned:Whatdoyoudoifyoudonotlikebaking

orwateryoga,whetheryouareamanorawoman?“Ifyourhusbandisnotintothese

activities,howdoyougetintothesocialexpatsociety?”(GG)saysaformerexpatriate

whoworkedinChina.Furthermore,shesaysthatifsomethingwentwronginschool,

theyalways calledheratwork insteadofherhusbandwhowasathome.Wherever

theywent,peopleassumedthathewastheoneworkingandwhentheyunderstood

48

that itwas the otherway around, theywere all so curious of "what does he do all

day?" Another expat whose husband stayed at home and took care of the kids

expressedthathehadalotofstruggleduringtheirtimeinIndia;sometimesheeven

liedabouthisoccupationinordertobeaccepted.

A female expatriate with no family or spouse who had her assignment in Europe

describes that she had a lot of struggles to find time outside of work for all the

arrangements she needed in order to install in the new country. Another employee

movingtoanEuropeancountrywithtwochildrenandaspousethatworkedisofthe

sameopinion.Whencominghomefroma10-hourworkingday,shehadacoupleof

hoursofworkthatwaitedathome.Shesaysthatsometimesshethoughtthattobe

abletohandlethesituationshewouldhaveneededa"houseman".

4.7Familyplanningandexpatriation

During the focus group sessionwith Alpha, the company's parental leave policy for

expatriatesisdiscussed.Therulesforparentalleavearecurrentlyregulatedafterthe

rules of the country where the expatriate live. Since Sweden has one of the most

generousparentalleavelegislationsintheworld,notmanycountriesareregardedas

attractiveforparentsofsmallchildrenwhenitcomestoparentalleave.Notonlythe

fact thatmany countries only have threeor fourmonths ofmaternity leave creates

obstacles for the family. "Since the contracts are written as they are, you basically

don't get paternity leave" (II). The participant that has not been on an expatriate

assignment yet explains that both she and her husband are looking for expatriate

assignmentsbut if theywouldhavea child itwouldbe abiggerproblem forhim to

takeonanexpatriateassignment:"nothavingthetimehomewiththechild,heisnot

uptothat"(HH)

One of the former expats in Alpha gave birth during her expatriate assignment and

afteradiscussionshegotthehigherinsurancecostspaidbythecompany."Fromthat

perspectiveIfeltIhadfullsupport"(II).Whenaskedifshewaseverconsideringgoing

homewhenbecomingpregnantshereplies:

"We sure had a discussion whether we should stay or not, whether the

timingwasgoodornot.Butweendedupwiththinking;ifwewantkidswe

49

cannotstopourlives.AndIalsofeltIhadfulfilledmyobligationstoAlpha

becauseIhadalreadyworkedthereforthreeyearssoitwasnotlikeIwent

onemonthandthenIgotpregnant"

-II,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

TherecruitingmanageratBetaonlyknowsofonecasewhereafemaleexpatriategot

pregnant.Inthiscasetheexpatriatechosetogohomeandaccordingtotherecruiting

manager,apartofitwasbecauseofthefactthatyouarenolongereligibleforsocial

insuranceinSwedenwhenlivingabroadforsuchalongtime.

"Whenhavingachildyoumightwanttocomebacktoit[socialinsurance;

ownexplanation]asquickaspossibleandonemightchoosetomovehome.

Additionally,it'snotsogoodforthecompanyeither.Youaregoinginorder

toaccomplishamissionandyoucannotdo that if youbecomepregnant,

then we have to send someone else and by the time you're back your

expatriatecontractmighthaveexpired"

-EE,RecruitingManager,Beta

4.8Thestructuralexplanation

Theparticipants inbothAlphaandBetarepeatedlyclaimedthatthe lownumbersof

female expatriates is dependent on the fact that most expatriate possibilities are

withinareasdominatedbymaleemployees.

"It's in Alpha's company structure; we are a lotmoremen thanwomen.

ManywomenworkwithinHRandfinance,wehavewomenworkingwithin

salesbutrelativetohowmanymen,theyarenotmany.Wetrytoattract

morewomenbutit'sachallenge,notonlyforusbutforthewholeindustry"

-LL,HRrepresentative,Alpha

50

AlsoinBeta,themarketingandsalesdepartmentsaredistinguishedastheareaswith

mostpossibilitiestoexpatriateassignments.

"Infunctionslikecommunication,financeandHRwehavealmostasmany

womenasmen,Ithinkit's50/50actually.However,tothosesalesfunctions

it's veryhard toget femaleapplicants.Because theyarenon-existing,we

don'thavemanywomenatBetaworkingwithinmarketingandsales."

-EE,Recruitingmanager,Beta

Todealwiththeproblem,bothcompanieshaveinitiateddifferentprojectsinorderto

raise the numbers of female employees. Alpha has launched a female mentorship

programwiththemissiontoboostwomenandhelpthembuildnetworkswithin the

organization. Currently, a new policy to encourage diversity within the company is

underdevelopment.AlsoBetainvestsalotofresourcesinattractingmorewomento

the organization. They try to influence already on institutional level by pushing for

many engineering programs on universities and actions for increasing the technical

interest amonggirls. The last fewyears,Betahas focuseda lotonattracting female

studentstoapplyforjobs,which,accordingtoanemployeeinvolvedwithinemployer

branding has resulted in that they have lost a bit of their positioning among male

students.However,howfewwomenthatactuallyworkwithinmarketingandsalesis

not possible for us to control since both companies claim to have no statistical

documentation.

TherecruitingmanagerandtheHR-representativeatAlphadiscussthepossibilityfor

employeeswithinotherareas,likeHRandcommunicationtogoabroadandtheyboth

agreeonthattherearepossibilitiestoworkabroadalsointhesepositions,butusually

it will not be on an expatriate contract but as a "Local Contract" employee. Local

Contractsaresimilartoapermanentemploymentbuttheyadditionallyincludesome

benefits such as support of rent during a limitedperiodof time.Another significant

differenceisthatwhengoingonanexpatassignment,yoursalaryiscalculatedbased

on the salary you had in your home country.When it comes to Local Contract, the

salaryisbasedonthesalarylevelinthehost-country.Thedifferenttypesofcontracts

implydifferentstrategicchoicesforAlpha.Iftheywantanemployeetogoabroadasa

51

stepping-stone in their career and then gain from their expanded knowledge;

expatriate contracts is the optimal choice for the organization and it offers a lot of

perksfortheemployeeeventhoughitentailsalotofinsecurityandstressforwhatis

yettocome.LocalContractsoffersmoresecuritytotheemployeesincetheyhavean

ongoing contract with no expiration date, but on the other hand this limits the

flexibilityandmobilityfortheorganization,meanwhiletheofferislessbeneficialand

thereforelesscostly.

52

53

5.Analysis

"It'saverycomplicatedareawhicheasilymakethosewhobelieveinabsolute

truthsfrustrated"(Alvesson&Billing,2009;7)

Afterconductingresearchwithinthisfieldit iseasytounderstandwhyAdler(1984b)

had such a deliberate and careful approach in her research. The fact that both

organizationschosetobeanonymousshowsthateventhoughthegenderdebatehas

beengoingonforyears,genderisstillaverysensitivetopic.Somefeelaccused,some

get upset and some think it is nonsense. There are all kinds of perceptions and

opinions. The men who participated watched their tongues in order to not say

anythingthatpossiblycouldbeinterpretedtobeinappropriateandiftheyaccidentally

didso,theywerequicktocorrectthemselves.Womenwerecarefultonot"back-talk"

theirownsexand to stress that theywere individualsandnot representativesofall

women.

5.1Organizationalprocesses-segregationandglassborders

AccordingtoAcker(1990;1992b;2012),anorganization'sgenderedsubstructuresare

created in its processes, whereby a gender segregated labor market arises as a

consequenceofitsbuilt-ininequalities.Furthermore,AlvessonandBilling(2009)divide

thegender segregationon the labormarket intohorizontalandvertical segregation.

Horizontal segregation between men and women in the workforce can be clearly

identified in both organizations since they are operating within industries that are

male-dominated.Bothcompaniesstatethatthisisthemainreasontowhytheyhave

lownumbersof femaleexpatriates.Organizations referred to the sameargument in

the70'swhenexplaining the lownumberofwomen inmanagement (Kanter,1977).

Fortyyearslater,thesameargumentationisappliedintheexpatriatediscussion,even

though these two companies have managed to raise the number of women in

management.However,womenarestillinminoritywithinourstudiedorganizations.If

themain problem is that they only have 17,5 % respectively 23 % women in their

workforces–whyaretheirfemaleexpatriateratesaslowas12%and5%?

54

Vertical segregation within the companies seems to be the explanation, which is

reflected upon the fact that women tend to work within HR, finance and

communication while men mostly work within marketing and sales. Since the

possibilitiestoexpatriateassignmentsarealothigherwithinmarketingandsales,their

lack of women automatically leads to disqualification of many women's abilities to

applytointernationalassignments.GherardiandPoggio(2001)claimthatmentendto

hold more prestigious positions than women and their theory is supported by the

junior employee in Beta's perception that as long as the company keep sending

employeesonseniorpositions, itwillmostlybemensincetheyareover-represented

inthesepositions.

Benschoop and Dooreward (1998) stress the importance of understanding unequal

practices in order to grasp an organization's gendered substructures. The two

organizationsstatethattherearepossibilitiesforwomentoworkabroadevenifthey

work within HR or communication. Within Alpha, the Local Contract possibility is

statedasthebestchanceforwomenworkingwithintheseareas.However,sincethe

salaryforLocalContractsisbasedonthehostcountry'ssalarylevel,itinfluencesyour

possibilitiestoworkabroad.Forexample,workingonanexpatriatecontract inIndia,

wherecostoflivingisrelativelylow,impliesaverycomfortablelife,althoughworking

on a Local Contract with an Indian salary might be less appealing. If additionally

accompaniedbyaspouse,thefinancialsituationmightnotbebearable.Thefactthat

therecruitmentmanagerinAlphadescribesanexpatriatecontractasasteppingstone

in your career, the Local Contract possibility can be interpreted as a sign of what

BenschopandDooreward(1998)callanequalopportunitywithunequalpractices;you

areabletogoabroadbut itwillnotbeasbeneficial foryourcareerasanexpatriate

contract would be. The different implications of international assignments within

different areas further strengthenGherardi and Poggio's (2001) reasoning thatmen

tendtoholdpositionswithhigherlevelsofresponsibilityandstatus.

According to Insch et al (2008), expatriate experience is often a requirement when

reachingfortopmanagementpositions.Forster(1999)claimsthispreferencetocause

asecond lawyerofglass forwomensincetheyare less likely tobecomeexpatriates.

Linehan &Walsh (1999) refer to this situation as a glass border, which disqualifies

55

womentobecomemanagers.NeitherinAlphaorBetacanLinehanandWalsh's(1999)

glass border be clearly identified; especially Beta has a comparatively high level of

womenonmanagerialpositionseventhoughtheyhavevery fewfemaleexpatriates.

Perhapsisitsothattheglassborderisnotpresent.JustasShortland(2009)stresses,

due to the lack of statistics,we do not know inwhat areas these femalemanagers

operate. However, since international experience is critical in order to reach higher

management in marketing and sales, one could presume that women can become

managersinareassuchasHRandfinancebutnotinmarketingandsales,whichoften

is a necessary background of top-management managers. Therefore, in accordance

with Shortland (2009) we suspect that vertical segregation is one of the reasons

explainingwomen'sabsenceoninternationalarenas.

5.2Organizationalgenderedculture–issocietytoblame?

The participants in the two organizations are more or less convinced that gender

structures in society have an impact large enough to create an obstacle for

organizations that are trying to change. The statement that the problem is “bigger

than us" is supported by Acker's (2012) theories, claiming that the gendered

organizational culture is influenced and adapted after the national culture. Since

Swedentodayis"obsessedwithgender"asonerespondentsaid,wefinditinteresting

thattheorganizationsgivethe impressionofworkingveryhardwithgenderequality

but have little statistical documentation in order to measure their progresses. The

recruitingmanageratBetacommentedontheirwomenworkingwithinmarketingand

sales:"Theyarenon-existing"(EE),buthowfewarethey?Nooneseemstoknowand

bothorganizationshavebeenverycarefulonsharingstatistical figuresofthegender

distributionwithin theirorganization. Justaswesuspected in theearlyphaseofour

study,much of the statistics we asked for, they claimed to not even exist. Schein's

(1990)theoryonorganizationalculturedescribesbasicunderlyingassumptionsasthe

component in theorganizational culture that ismostdifficult todiscover, since they

oftenaresubconsciousalso for theorganization itself.This theorycanbeappliedon

ourstudiedorganizations.Isthereactuallyalackofwomeninsalesandmarketingin

both Alpha and Beta? If not, it might be an underlying assumption that forms an

overallperceptionthattherearenowomenintheseareas.

56

5.3Interactionbetweenindividuals–whatishiddenunderthesurface?

Bendl's (2008) subtext of attributedmasculinity andmales as thenormexplains the

situation whereby females are seen as "the other" when compared withmasculine

valuesifmalebehaviorisseenasthenorm.Thisgenderedsubtextofwomenas"the

other"wasdebatedinthefocusgroups,asthewomenaretiredofalwaysbeingseen

asdifferentwhentheydivergefromthenorm.Thegenderdebatehasbeengoingon

foryearsnowandtheyaresickofgettingattentionbecauseoftheirsexandnotfrom

their efforts. In line with Deutsch's (2007) criticism againstWest and Zimmerman's

(1987),manyofourparticipants findtoday'sgenderdebatetobecounterproductive

since it focuses on differences and portray women in the organization as

troublemakers. In accordance with Deutsch (2007) they perceive that the focus on

"doinggender"inmanyaspectsreinforcegenderinequalities,althoughtheyagreethat

therestillaregenderinequalitiestoovercome.

In order to increase the number of female expatriates, Insch et al (2008) stress the

importanceofawarenessofpotentialgenderbiasesalreadyinorganizations'selection

processes.Bendl's(2008)twosubtextsoffeminizationandofattributedmasculinityas

thenormchallengesthegenderneutralofferasbeingmasculineifarenewedofferis

seenasfeminine.Ifthegenderneutralofferactuallyismasculine,thisalsoimpliesthat

what ismale is seen as the norm andwhat is female is seen as the exception. The

expatriate offer at Alpha is seen as gender neutral from all respondents and the

recruitment manager says that changing the offer in order to attract more women

would implicitly make the offer biased, favoring women and counteract the

recruitmentofthebestsuitablecandidate.Inthiscase,wherearenewedofferwould

beconsidered"too feminine",onecouldpresumethat the initiatingoffer is favoring

men.

Noneofthecompaniescanbesaidtousea"coffee-machinesystem"intheirselection

ofexpatriates,astrategyHarrisandBrewster(1999)suggestedtobeacommonwayof

recruitingexpatriates.On thecontrary it is statedasalmost impossible inAlphaand

veryrareinBetatobeheadhuntedforanexpatriateassignment.Wehavenotfound

supportforInschetal's(2008)theory,claimingthatwomenoftenareexcludedfrom

informal networks were expatriates tend to be chosen. However, despite these

57

statements, the respondents support Benschop and Dooreward's (1998) findings on

"the importanceofbeingasked". According toparticipants inbothcompanies,your

network plays a crucial role in how much information you have about expatriate

assignmentsandhowgoodyourchancesaretobeselected.This indicatesthateven

though the companies strive for an open selection process, it is very hard to be

completelyunbiased.Alsotheperceptionthatsomepositionsseemtobewrittenfora

special personmight influence thenumberof people applying.AlvessonandBillings

(1994) theory that women only apply for jobs when they feel they fulfill all

requirements isexemplifiedthroughthewomaninBetawhodidnotunderstandshe

couldapplyuntilafemalecolleaguewithsimilarbackgroundturneddowntheoffer.If

their theory is applicable on women in general, the usage of very specific

advertisementswillsustainthenumberoffemaleapplicantstoremainlow.Afurther

example is thewoman inAlphawhoexplained that she received the jobsince there

wereveryfewapplicantsandthathermaincompetitordidnotfulfilltherequirements

for the position. Benschop and Doorewaard (1998) claim that high pressure is a

commonobstacleforfemalemanagers,whichcanexplainherreasoning.Shedoesnot

refertoherstrengths,buttoothercandidates’weaknessesasthemainreasonforher

getting the job. It is hard to decidewhether this argument depends on her being a

woman in a typical male position, trying to lower the expectations and minimize

jealousy,orifitisastrictpersonalitytraitthatliesbehindthismodestapproach.Still,

sincemanyofourrespondentsperceivedthatit'smoredifficultforwomentotakeon

expatriate assignments, one could presume that Benschop and Dooreward's (1998)

findings are applicable on female expatriates in our studied organizations. The

women'sawarenessof thehighpressure that followsandhowcarefully theywillbe

examinedcouldthenbeafurtherexplanationofAlvessonandBilling's (1994)theory

sincetheythenonlywouldapplywhentheyfeelabsolutelysureoftheircapabilities,in

otherwords,whentheyfulfill100%oftherequirements.

It is hard to judge to what extent women feel that they are affected of being in

minority.Ourempiricalfindingsshowthattheopinionsdifferamongourrespondents,

whichsupportsAlvessonandBillings(2009)opinionthatgenderstudies isnotafield

thatcanbeseenaspurelyblackorwhite.WestandZimmerman's(1983)findingson

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interruptionsofconversationsaresupportedbytheexampleofthemaleexpatriate's

perceptionofthefemaleexpatriatetohavemoredifficultiesmakinghervoiceheard.

However, theoppositeopinion isalso shared fromthe junioremployee inBetawho

statesthatshereceivesadvantagesfrombeinginminoritysinceshestandsoutfrom

the crowd. This is contrary to Benschop and Dooreward (1998) who suggests that

being a woman in a "man's job" make women more vulnerable in their minority

positionsduetohighexpectations.Furthermore,theauthorsarguethatthebehavior

oftheminority’smembersisreflectedupontheentiregroup.Ourparticipantsdidnot

confirm this, but even though our female respondents did not see themselves as

tokens,theysomehowexperiencedthattheyhadtoprovethemselvesworthoftheir

position. However, this was referred to as being a general state of mind, and not

specificfortheexpatriatesituation.Thisisaninterestingcontradiction;themajorityof

the female respondents claim that they are not negatively affected of being in

minority, but in the meantime they express that women must live up to higher

expectations than men. Where does this leave us? According to Schein (1990), a

company's culture consists of its visible artifacts, values and basic underlying

assumptions. However, the general perception in both organizations is that their

expatriate offers are gender neutral, and just as thewomen claim, you are treated

equallyasawomanoraman.Additionally,bothcompanieshavepolicies forgender

equalityanddiversity,whichindicatesthatboththevisibleartifactsandvalueswithin

the organization appear to be gender neutral. However, higher expectations on

women indicate that the underlying assumptions do not correspond to the artifacts

andvalues,whichimpliesthattheorganizationisnotfullygenderneutral.

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5.4GenderedIdentities-"Ifshecan,Ican"

Thespiritthatyourcareeris"uptoyou"isdeeplyrootedinAlpha'scompanyculture.

This might appear to be an efficient strategy if the company wants their most

motivated employees to become expatriates. However, whether the lack of career

planningisgoodorbadforgenderequalityamongexpatriatesisdebatable.According

to Benschop and Dooreward (1998), the typical career steps in an organization are

adjusted to the typical worker, which traditionally has been a man. Additionally,

Collinson and Hearn (1994) categorize careerism as a typical male trait, which is

supportedbythefocusgroupparticipantsinAlphawhoclaimthatmenaremuchmore

career focused than women. These theories imply that the lack of career planning

mightbefavorableforthewomen inAlphasinceeveryonehastocompeteonequal

terms.Nevertheless,anabsenceofcareerplanningmakesithardtovisualizethenext

naturalstepinthecareerandsincethestereotypedexpatriateisstillseenasaman,it

mightbeevenharderforawoman(Altman&Shortland,2008).

Shortland (2009) argues for that queuing theory does not seem to be applicable on

femaleexpatriatessincethenumberofwomenininternationalmanagementincrease

veryslowlyeventhoughtheexpatriatebenefitshavedecreasedinmanyorganizations.

Comparing theorganizations'percentagesof femaleexpatriates it seems likeAlpha's

strategyattractsmorewomentoworkasexpatriates.Ontheotherhand,Alphais in

themiddleof adownturn,whichhas led to an increaseduncertainty for employees

taking on expatriate assignments. This fact could indicate that the queuing theory,

contrarytoShortland´s(2009)findings,isapplicable;womenareofferedpositionsthat

nolongerattractmen(Shortland,2009).However,onceagainstatisticsarescarceand

wearenotabletodecidethedeterminingfactorofAlpha'srelativelyhighernumberof

femaleexpatriates.

Kanter's (1977)structuresofpossibilities,powerandtherelativerepresentationofa

particularsocialgroupintheirpositionleadsustoquestionhowfemaleswithinthese

organizationsshapetheir identities.Dowomenseethemselvesasexpatriatesifmost

expatriates aremen? Referring to the statistics, the organizations' share ofwomen,

female managers and female expatriates can be an indicator of Kanter's (1977)

structural factors. The 17 % women, 17 % female managers and 12 % female

60

expatriates inAlphaareallnumbersdemonstratingwomen'srelativerepresentation.

Thesituation inBeta isquitedifferent:23%arewomen,27%are femalemanagers

but only 5 % are female expatriates. Since the percentage of women equals the

percentageofmanagers inAlpha, thewomen'sperceivedchances topower through

themanagerial role are likely tobequite small, but in themeantimeashigh as the

chances to work in Alpha at all. However, the perceived possibilities to work as an

expatriatemaybesmaller.AtBetaontheotherhand,therearerelativelymorefemale

managersthanwomeninthetotalworkforceandmanyfemalerespondentsseemto

share the opinion that there are bright career prospects for women within their

organization.However,thenumberoffemaleexpatriatesatBetadoesnotcorrespond

to the same pattern. In both Alpha and Beta are the low numbers of female

expatriates once again explained through the fact that most women are working

withinareasthattraditionallyemploymorewomen,suchasHRandfinance,areasthat

offer fewer expatriate assignments. How does this fact influence the way women

identify themselves within the organization? According to Acker (1992b), the

individual'schoiceof identity isdependentonhowstructuresandexpectations from

the organization are perceived. Additionally, Peteraf and Shanley (1997) argue that

differentgroupswithinorganizationsshapetheirowngroup-identity.Thisleadsusto

question;doesafemaleengineerrelatemoretothesocialgroupofwomenthanthe

socialgroupofengineerswithinherorganization? If so,according toKanter's (1977)

structural factors, she might perceive that her possibilities are rather small, even

thoughtheyarenot.TherecruitmentmanageratBetawhoexpressedtheimportance

ofrolemodelsas"Ifshecan,Ican"(EE),supportsShaw's(2001)undoingofgenderas

wellasKanter(1977)bydemonstratingtheimportanceofbeingabletoidentifyyour

possibilitiesasanemployeewithintheorganization.Throughourempiricalfindingswe

havenotbeenabletodecidewhetherwomentendtoidentifythemselvesmorewith

their gender than their profession. However, what we can confirm is that Dye and

Mill's(2012)criticismofthepossibilitytomapanindividualsmindisjustified.

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5.5Theabstractexpatriate

Throughourfindingsofgenderedsubstructuresinprevioussections,wesupportAdler

(1979) and Shortland's (2009) prior research; bothwomen's andmen's expectations

and perceived image of an expatriate today is based on the historical and

contemporaryviewofwhoexpatriatesareandhowtheyact.Acker(2012)introduced

the abstract worker when arguing that the common expectations of a worker still

derive from the ideaof themanbeing the family's breadwinner.We consider these

unspokenassumptionstobesimilartotheimplicationsoftheabstractworker,which

motivatesustointroduceanelaboratedversionoftheabstractworker;the"abstract

expatriate".

JustlikeAcker(2012)claimsthatthetypicalworkingdayisgendered,wesuggestthat

theexpatriateassignmentderivesfromthesameidea.Thisisespeciallyevidentwhen

looking at the family situation for most expatriates; the man is the family's

breadwinnermeanwhilethewomanistakingcareofallunpaidhousework(Shortland,

2009). Since the woman is expected to take care of many social activities and

arrangements related to the children, it can be a struggle to take on an expatriate

assignment, some of the women even expressed that they would have needed a

houseman. Additionally, the woman in Beta who perceived a male colleague to be

pamperedbytheorganizationalsoindirectlysupportsAcker's(2012)findingsonthat

womenwithprofessionalcareersareexpectedtotakecareofthehouseholdduties.

Also the fact thatmenstill todayearnmorethanwomen2 isacontributing factor to

whywomenwithfamilyandspousemighthesitatetoacceptanexpatriateassignment.

Accompanyingasa spouse, youdonotgetany cover for lossof incomeorpension.

Hence, if amale spouse earnsmore than the female expatriate, itmay entail a big

economic risk for thewhole family if theman quits his job (Shortland, 2009). Seen

through the eyes of an expatriate, the uncertainty ofwhatwill happen or how you

economicallywillmanageafteryoufinishedyourassignmentmightthusinfluenceyour

willingness to apply in the first place. Beside the economic stress, many of the

participatingwomen have described how their husbandswere bored or had a hard

2Intheyearof2014,theaveragesalaryofawomaninSwedencorrespondedto86%oftheaveragesalaryofaman.

62

time finding networks and daytime activities, aswell as being accepted by the local

culture and other expatriates. Just as a femalemanager according to Davidson and

Cooper(1992)couldgetalowstatusduetoanapparentmasculinesubculturewithin

organizations,amalespousewouldinaveryfemininesubculturesuchasthespouse

community, experience a lower status. The difficulties amanmight experience as a

spouse,impliesyetanotherdrawbackforafamilywherethewomanistheexpatriate.

Furthermore, pregnancies appear to be quite exceptional among expatriates. The

recruiting manager at Beta who explained a pregnancy during an expatriate

assignment as quite unfortunate for the company can be related to Acker's (2012)

abstractworker, since this implies that one subconsciouslymight prefer aman to a

womaninordertominimizetheriskofabsenteeismandpregnancy. InviewofAdler

(1984b),aswellasBenschopandDoorewaard's(1998)findingsonhowmembersofa

minority's actions andbehaviors are seen as representative of the entire group, the

exampleof thewomanwhoterminatedherexpatriateassignmentduetopregnancy

may strengthen recruiters’ subconscious disfavor of women in fertile age.

Furthermore,thistheoryisalsoapplicableinthecasewherethewomanatAlphagave

birthduringherexpatriateassignment.Sheexpressedthatshefeltshehadfulfilledher

obligations to the company before she became pregnant.Moreover, the expatriate

contracts are adapted to the regulations in the host country, which implies that in

mostcases,childcareorpaternalleaveisnotincluded.Hence,ifyouhaveafamilyand

want towork as an expat youmust find some kindof solution for your family. This

solution often implies that thewoman is notworking since the idea of the abstract

expatriatesupportsthisarrangement.

Identifyinggendered substructures that influencewomen'spossibilities toexpatriate

assignmentsiscrucialinordertoreachgenderequalityonalllevels.Butyetagain,the

gendertopicisaminefield!Betaalmostlostpositioningamongmenwhenfocusinga

loton the recruitingofwomenand fronting theirwomen,whichexemplifiesBendl's

(2008)Subtextofpretendedequalitybetweenmalesandfemales.Womenbeinggiven

advantages and seen as the managers of the future implies a risk of turning the

hierarchy around. This would not lead to the end of an inequality but rather a

beginningofanotherinequality,withmeninaninferiorposition.

63

6.Discussion&Conclusion

Through this study,wehave investigatedhoworganizations'genderedsubstructures

influencetheprospectsoffemaleexpatriates.Firstly,wecanconcludethatgendered

substructures inorganizationalprocessesarepartlyexplaining the lowerpossibilities

for women to take on expatriate assignments. Alvesson and Billing's (2009) vertical

segregation is easily identified in both organizations and supports the underlying

assumptionsofwhat divisions or areas in anorganization thatmen andwomenare

supposed toworkwithin.Womenare given possibilities towork internationally but

due to vertical segregation, primarily within typical female dominated sectors.

Additionally, reality is not corresponding to theory when it comes to Linehan and

Walsh's(1999)glassborder.Therearewomeninmanagerialpositionsalthoughthere

arefewfemaleexpatriates.However,duetothelackofwomenworkinginmarketing

and sales, we suspect that women primarily become "middle-managers". If our

suspicionsareapplicable,weassertthatthiscould implyanewinterpretationofthe

glass border; there are possibilities forwomen to take on international assignments

although internationalexperience in theseareasdoesnotqualify tohigherpositions

withintheorganization.Inordertogivewomenthesamepossibilitiesandprospects,

organizationsmuststartofbyemployingwomeninmarketingandsales.

Inordertobeatrulygenderneutralorganization,genderneutralitymustpermeateall

levels.Sinceunderlyingassumptionssupportvaluesandartifacts,anorganizationthat

appears to be gender neutral but still has gendered underlying assumptions is not

genderneutral.Althoughthesetwoorganizationsappeartopresentagenderneutral

expatriateoffer,weassert thatwomenstillmust liveuptohigherexpectationsthan

mensincebeingthecompany’s“pride&joy”impliesagreaterpressure.Inaccordance

withBenschopandDoorewaard(1998),weclaimthatthisisanexplanationtothelack

ofwomen in internationalmanagement.However, sinceunderlyingassumptionsare

veryhardtograsp,understandandidentify,anorganizationthatappearstobegender

neutral intheirvaluesandartifactsmightconsiderthistobegoodenough.Weseea

risk that if organizations perceive themselves to be gender neutral without

understanding their underlying gendered assumptions, they will be satisfied and

64

thereby stop working towards gender equality, leaving gendered underlying

assumptionstoliveon.

Furthermore,duetoalackofrolemodels,womendonotidentifythemselveswithor

as expatriates. This indirectly discourage women to work as expatriates since the

perception of low possibilities is likely to prevent and impede women to apply to

international assignments. The lack of role models leaves the stereotype of an

expatriate as male unchanged. We support Shaw's (2001) theory on that acts of

resistancewillleadtoanundoingofgenderandwearethereforearguingthatthelack

offemaleexpatriaterolemodelswillleavetheexpatriategenderrolesunaffected.

The resultsof this study show that theexpatriateoffer ismasculineandnot gender

neutral.WecanconfirmthatAdler's(1984b)thirdmythisstillalive;organizationsare

reluctanttosendwomenoninternationalassignments.However,weassertthatthisis

due toAcker's (2012)underlyinggendered substructures,whichdrivesorganizations

to subconsciously favor men as expatriates. Concluding, vertical segregation, high

pressureonwomen,aperceptionof lowpossibilitiesand the lackof rolemodelsall

support and reinforce the idea of an abstract expatriate. The abstract expatriate

impliesthatfemaleexpatriatesfacebiggerobstaclesthanmaleexpatriates.Theymust

notonlyadapttoanewcultureandsociety,whichinitselfalreadycanbechallenging,

but they must also adapt in order to fulfill the organization's requirements and

expectationsoftheabstractexpatriate.

6.1Contributionstothecontemporarygenderdebate

ContradictingtoBenshopandDooreward's(1998)theory,wecanconcludethatbeing

in minority as a woman may imply a career advantage. However, referring to the

problematicswithunfairtreatment,inaccordancewithBendl(2008),weclaimthatit

isahazardousstrategytogiveadvantagestowomensinceitmightenforceorcreate

another sense of inequality by putting men in an inferior position. Nevertheless,

favoring women to some extent could possibly be the first step towards gender

equality.TherelativelyhighnumberoffemalemanagersatBetaprovesthatsocieties

expectations plays a very important role in gender equality and that a reasoning

referringtostructures insocietysuchas;"it'sbiggerthanus",doesnothold.Kaplan

andNorthon's(1992)saying"Whatyoumeasureiswhatyouget" iscertainlypresent

65

inthiscontext.Whensocietymeasuresthenumberoffemalemanagers,thenumber

of female managers increases. It seems like organizations only comply with the

standards they know will be controlled or made public. This makes us draw the

conclusionthatifexternalpressureisnon-existing,itisunlikelythatorganizationswill

invest timeandresources inthismatter.Hence, inorderto increasethenumbersof

femaleexpatriates,companiesmustkeepstatisticsandmaptheirgenderdistribution

withintheorganization.Iftherearenostatistics,whatyoudon'tmeasure-youwon't

get;morefemaleexpatriates.

6.2Researchcontributionsandimplicationsforfurtherresearch

Theresultsofthisstudyareimportant;contrarytomuchofpreviousresearch,which

has focused on the female expatriation process, we stress Acker's research on

genderedorganizationstobeapplicableinthefemaleexpatriatefield.Hence,inorder

to find the best suitable expatriates and build strong global relationships we are

referringtotheresultofthisstudywhenrecommendingorganizationstofirstlookto

themselvesand theirgenderedsubstructures. Future researchon femaleexpatriates

mustthusputmoreemphasisontheroleandresponsibilityoftheorganizationintheir

lackoffemaleexpatriates.

At last, by applying a critical realist perspectivewehave to someextent limitedour

study.Wehave been able tomap gendered substructures by studying their effects,

whichwas in linewithourpurposeandresearchquestion.However, throughoutour

studywehavefacedsituationswhereaninterpretiveperspectivecouldhavebeenan

alternative. One example is the many Freudian slips whereby our respondents

subconsciouslyused thepronoun"he"when talkingaboutanexpatriate. Inorder to

analyze these and to create a deeper understanding of the substructures, an

interpretativeperspectivewouldhavebeenapplicable.Therefore in future research,

aimingtogetadeeperunderstandingofthisspecificfield,wewouldgladlysupportthe

idea of applying an interpretative perspective to understand another reality.

Additionally, we would find it interesting if future research replicated our study in

other industries since different industries might have different gendered

substructures.

66

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73

AppendixI

Interviewguide–focusgroup&interviewswithexpatriates

Introduction

• Thanktherespondentsfortheirparticipation.

• Introduceourstudyandourselves.

• Informaboutpurposeandresearchquestion.

• Informabouttheirrightsandwhatweexpectfromthemduringthefocus

group/interview.

• Askforpermissiontorecord.

• Askparticipantstointroducethemselvesandtheirrolewithintheorganization.

“Warmup”questions

Experiencedexpatriates

• Haveyoualwaysstrivedtowardsaninternationalcareer?

• Howcomeyouchosetogoonanexpatriateassignment?

Inexperienced

• Canyouseeyourselfworkingasanexpatriate?Isthatsomethingyoustrive

for?

OrganizationalProcesses

• Howdotheorganizationinformaboutpossibleexpatassignments?

• Doallemployeeshaveaccesstothesameinformation?

• Didsomeoneencourageyoutoapply?

GenderedSubstructures

• Howdoyoulookuponatypicalexpatriate?Whatattributesandbehavior

wouldyoureferto?

• Whatexpectationsdoyouhaveonanexpatriate?

• Whatareyourexperiencesofbeingawomaninanindustrydominatedby

men?

74

Thelastquestionwasexcludedfromtheinterviewwiththemaleexpatriateand

replacedwiththefollowing:

• Didyounoticeanydifferencesinthechallengesthatoccurredtofemaleand

maleexpatriates?

GenderedCulture

• Hasyourperceivedimageofanexpatassignmentchangedsinceyoufirst

startedinthecompany?Ifso,inwhatway?

• Genderinorganizationsisasubjectwidelydiscussedinpoliticsandsociety

today;isthisdiscussionhavinganimpactonyourorganization?Inwhatway?

Interactionsbetweenindividuals

• Didearlierexpatriateswithintheorganizationhaveanimpactforyourdecision

toapplytoanexpatriateassignment?

• Dowomenandmenhavethesamepossibilitytoobtainexpatriate

assignments?

GenderedIdentity

Experiencedexpatriates

• Howwasthesupportandencouragementfromtheorganizationandyour

surroundingswhenyoudecidedtoapplyforanexpatriateassignment?

• Didyoudiscoveranyadvantagesordisadvantagesofbeingafemaleexpatriate?

• Whatdoyouthinkwasthereasonforthatyougotanexpatriateassignment?

• Didtheexpatriateassignmentinfluenceyourcareerandyourpossibilities

withintheorganization?

Inexperienced

• Whatkindofsupportfromtheorganizationwouldmaketheexpatriate

assignmentmoreattractivetoyou?

• Howdoyoulookuponyourfuturepossibilitiestogoonexpatriateassignments?

75

• Whatinfluencedoyouthinkanexpatriateassignmentwouldhaveonyourfurthercareer?

Closure

• Arethereotherquestionsoropinionsthatyouwouldliketocontributewithor

thatyouconsiderrelevantinthisdiscussion?

• Summarizingthemainpointsinthediscussion

76

AppendixIIInterviewguide–interviewswithrecruitmentmanagers

• Thanktherespondentsfortheirparticipation.

• Introduceourstudyandourselves.

• Informaboutpurposeandresearchquestion.

• Informabouttheirrightsandwhatweexpectfromthemduringtheinterview.

• Askforpermissiontorecord.

• Askparticipantstointroducethemselvesandtheirrolewithintheorganization.

OrganizationalProcesses

• Pleaseexplainhowtherecruitmentprocessforexpatriatesworks.

• Accordingtoyou,whatadvantagesanddisadvantageshasthistypeof

recruitmentprocess?

• Pleaseexplainhowtherepatriationprocessworks.

GenderedSubstructures

• Ifyouwoulddescribethetypicalexpatriate,howwouldyoudescribeit?

• Whatisincludedintheexpatriatecontract?

• Doyouseeanyadvantagesordisadvantagesbysendingafemaleexpatriate?

GenderedCulture

• Whatarethecurrenttrendsforexpatriateassignments?

• Isyourorganizationinfluencedofthegenderequalitydebateinthesociety

today?Ifso,inwhatway?

Interactionbetweenindividuals

• Dowomenandmenhavethesamepossibilitiestoobtainexpatriate

assignments?

• Doyouworkwithanymentorshipprogramsforfemaleexpatriates?

77

GenderedIdentity

• Isitimportantwithinternationalexperienceinordertoclimbthecareer

ladder?

• Doyouthinkallemployeesperceivethesamepossibilitiestoobtainexpatriate

assignments?

• Aretherethingsthattheorganizationcando,inordertoattractmorewomen

toapplytoexpatriateassignments?

Closure

• Arethereotherquestionsoropinionsthatyouwouldliketocontributewithor

thatyouconsiderrelevantinthisdiscussion?

• Summarizingthemainpointsinthediscussion.

78

AppendixIII

Herebywe present original quotes from interviews conducted in Swedishwith their

translationintoEnglish.Togetthetrueessenceofthesequotations,wehavechosen

nottotranslatewordbywordinordertogetaslegitimatequotationsaspossible.

"Since I've not been at Alpha for so many years, automatically when I apply for a

position, Iamunknown,onedoesn't recognizemynameand thatmakesmyoptions

very limited since I compete with people that know each other through different

networks[…]EventhoughI'vedoneagoodjobforthreeyearsnow,it'sstillonlyasmall

groupofpeoplewhoknowswhoIam"

“EftersomjaginteharvaritsåmångaårinomAlphasådetblirjusåatt

närjagsökerettjobbsåärjagokänd,mankännerinteigenmittnamnså

detgörjuattjagkanverkligeninteväljaochvraka,förattdåkonkurrerar

jujagmedfolksomkännervarandragenomnätverk[…]Jagharfått

chansenattgöradethärjobbetundertreår,ochmanverkarvaranöjd

medjobbet,mendetärfortfarandebaraenlitenkretssomvetvadjag

kan.“

-JJ,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

"Wedon'tencouragewomentoapply,it'sthesameforeveryone."

“Viuppmuntrarintekvinnorattsöka,detärlikaföralla."

-LL,RecruitingManager,Alpha

"ButI'mabitagainstthat,Iwantittobetherightperson.Wearesupposedtowrite

theaddssothattheyattracteveryone[…]Iftheyfeelthatno,nowthey'relookingfora

womaninthisposition,thenIthinkit'sforthewrongpurpose.Butthemainproblem

forusisthattheindustryissodominatedbymen."

79

“Menjagärliteemotsånt,jagattdetskavararättperson.Manskaändå

skrivadehäransökningarnasåattdemotiveraralla.Ommankänneratt

”nuärdeuteochsökerenkvinnapådenhärposten”,dåtyckerjagattvi

fårliksomfelsyfte.Men,grundproblemetförossärjuattbranschenär

väldigtmansdominerad…”

-KK,RecruitmentManager,Alpha

"IthinkorIamprettysurethathe,mybosstalkedtotherecruitingbossoverthere,so

itwaswell...Yeah..Mm...."

“Jagtrorellerjagärganskasäkerpåatthan,minchefpratademed

rekryterandechefdärockså,sådetvarju..Ja….Mm…"

-DD,Maleexpatriate,Beta

"Many jobs that I'vebeenrecruited to,well Ihope ithasbeenbasedoncompetence

but Iwouldn't be surprised if Iwas selectedbecause I amawoman, Iwould say it's

quiteeasytomakeacareerasawomanatBetanow."

“Flerajobbsomjagharrekryteratstill,jaalltsåjaghoppasjuattdetär

påkompetensmenjagskulleintebliförvånadomjagblevvaldförattjag

ärkvinnaförattdetärlättskullejagsägaattgörakarriärhosBETAjust

nusomtjej."

-AA,Femaleexpatriate,Beta

"There'snothingIcangohometo,Iaminalittlerubberboatontheocean,tryingto

findlandsomewhere.."

“Detfinnsingenreträttplatsförmig,detfinnsingetjagkanåkahemtill

utanjagäruteienlitenjollepåoceanen,ochskaförsökahittaland

någonstans.."

80

-JJ,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

"Iknewthat Iwouldn't findanasexiting job [asabroad;own interpretation]when I

camehome.TheorganizationsupportedmeandIdon'tknowifIgotthejobbecause,

wellpartlybecausetheyweresupposedtosupportmyreturnbutIendedupwiththe

jobIappliedforandwanted,soIthinkthatthecompanyhasbeensupportive."

“Jag visste att jag inte skulle hitta ett jobb som jag tyckte var lika

spännandenär jag komhemochdå ställdeorganisationenuppoch jag

vet inteom jag fickdet jobbet föratt, jadels förattde skulle supporta

minhemkomst,menjagfickjuiallafalldetjobbetsomjagsökteochville

hanärjagkomhem,sådärtyckerjagföretagetharställtuppdå."

-AA,Femaleexpatriate,Beta

"Wearenottellingourexpatriates:'-Youaregoingbecauseit'sastepinyourcareer.'

Butthenitcouldstillbelikethat,implicitly."

"Visägerintetillvåraexpatirater:‘-Duåkerutförattdetärendelidin

karriär.Sågörintevi.Mensenkandetjuvaradetunderförståttändå."

-EE,Recruitmentmanager,Beta

"…abigworkplacebuteveryonedomoreorlesskeeptrackofwhateveryoneisdoing.

The best commercial for expatriate assignments is of course when we can refer to

someonewhohasreturnedhomeandwhohasbeenabletotakethenextstepinthe

career".

“...enstorarbetsplatsmenallaharkollpåvarandramerellermindre.

Ochdetbästaskyltfönstretärjuattvisaattnånsomharkommittillbaka

fårettjättebranästastegochså,detärdetabsolutbästa."

-KK,RecruitmentManager,GlobalBusinessUnit

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"Foreverywomanyouseethatgoesonanexpatriateassignment,bothfromBeta's

perspective,thatweactuallysendher,butalsothatshemakesitworkwithherfamily,

Ithinkthatcreatesapositivepicture.Andthat'softenthecase;ifshecan,Ican.You

compareyourselfwithothers"

"Förvarjekvinnasommanseråkeriväg,bådefrånett

företagsperspektiv,attvifaktisktskickarmenävendåatthonfaktisktfår

detattfunkamedsinfamilj,detmåsteju,tyckerjag,skapaenpositivitet

liksom.Ochdetärjuoftastsåmed;kanhonsåkanjag,manjämförsigju

medandra."

-EE,RecruitmentManager,Beta

"Youcansaylikethis–thereisnoofficialmentorshipprogramorprocessbutBBandI

havebeenmentoringeachother.Youareveryaloneoutthere,evenifyouhaveother

expatstherearenootherwomen."

Mankanvälsägasåhärattdetfinnsingetprogramfördet,detfinns

ingenprocess,menBBochharjumentoreratvarandrakanmansäga.

manärjuväldigtensamdäruteävenommanharandraexpatsmedsig

mendetvaringamertjejer."

-AA,Femaleexpatriate,Beta

"When I first met with senior management, brand new, from Sweden and the first

womaninamanagementposition[…]oneofthemalecolleagueslooksatmeandsays:

'WelcometoSwitzerland,butwhatareyoudoinghere?Youcannotdothisjob.'Iguess

itwastoomuchforthem,beingbothSwedishandawoman."

"Närjagstegariniochhälsarpåledningsgruppen,,somheltnyochförsta

kvinnaniledningsposition,[...]enavdemanligakollegorna,hantittarju

påmigoch säger, 'Välkommen till Schweiz,menvarför kommerduhit?

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Dukanjuintetadenhärpositionen.'Jagtrorattdetblevförmångasvag

punkterförhonom,attjagvarsvenskmendessutomkvinna."

-JJ,Femaleexpatriate,Alpha

"YoueasilystandoutfromthecrowdandthereforeIthinkit'seasiertogetrecognition.

Ifyouknowhowtouseit,itcangiveyouadvantages"

“Dustickerutväldigtmycketiengruppochdärförtrorjagattdetär

lättareattfåetterkännande.Ochvetmanhurmanskautnyttjadetså

kanmanutnyttjadet.“

-CC,Junioremployee.Beta

"I talked toherabout these thingsbut she said shehadneverexperiencedanything

negativeagainsther"

“Jagpratademedhenneomlitesånasakerochhonsaaldrignåntingom

atthonhadeupplevtnåntingnegativt”

-DD,Maleexpatriate,Beta

"Whenhavingachildyoumightwanttocomebacktoit[socialinsurance;ownexpl.]

asquickaspossibleandonemightchoosetomovehome.Additionally,it'snotsogood

forthecompanyeither.Youaregoinginordertoaccomplishamissionandyoucannot

dothatifyoubecomepregnant,thenwehavetosendsomeoneelseandbythetime

you'rebackyourexpatriatecontractmighthaveexpired"

“Ommanfårbarnsåvillmanjuoftastganskasnabbtkommatillbakatill

det[försäkringskassan;egenförklaring]igenochmankanskedärför

väljerattflyttahemdå.Plusattdetärjuintesåbraförföretagetheller.

Manåkerjuditförattfaktisktutföraettuppdragochdetkanmanjuinte

göradåommanblirgravidsåattdåmåstemanjuskickanågonannani

vilketsomhelstfördetdäruppdraget,manmåstejuskickaenvikarie

83

ellernågontingdå.Senharjuoftastdådinkontraktperiodlöptutnärdu

kanbörjajobbaigen.”

-EE,RecruitingManager,Beta

"Infunctionslikecommunication,financeandHRwehavealmostasmanywomenas

men,Ithinkit's50/50actually.However,tothosesalesfunctionsit'sveryhardtoget

femaleapplicants.Becausetheyarenon-existing,wedon'thavemanywomenatBeta

workingwithinmarketingandsales."

“Ifunktionersomkommunikation,detärfinans,detärHR,alltsåviharju

nästanlikamycketkvinnor,jagtrorvihar50/50faktiskt.Däremottillde

härsäljfunktionerna,därärdetjujättesvårtattfåkvinnligasökande.För

definnsinte,alltsådefinnsinteens,viharintemångakvinnorpåBeta

somjobbarmedmarknadsföringochförsäljning."

-EE,RecruitingManager,Beta

"It'sinAlpha'scompanystructure;wearealotmorementhanwomen.Manywomen

workwithinHRandfinance,wehavewomenworkingwithinsalesbutrelativetohow

manymen,theyarenotmany.Wetrytoattractmorewomenbutit'sachallenge,not

onlyforusbutforthewholeindustry"

“Det ligger i Alphas företagsstruktur, att vi är ju mycket mer män än

kvinnor. Många kvinnor kanske jobbar inom finance, HR, vi har både

säljaresomärkvinnormeniförhållandetillhurmångamändetärsåär

de väldigt få. Vi försöker jobbamed att få in kvinnormen det är ju en

utmaningochdetärintebaraförossutanförhelabranschen.”

-LL,HRrepresentative,Alpha