HR assignment essay help on: Gender issues and family concerns

Gender issues and Family concerns for women with International careersTzeng presents a research paper to examine how gender stereotyping and discrimination is faced by women expatriates and how they balance out their work – family life balance. This is a good study; however, there are some clear weaknesses that challenge the findings.

• The informants have assumed that international assignments are under the protection of anti- discriminatory laws.
• Multinational offices in Taiwan were included in the sample and therefore, is restricted in its perspective as it did not have access to the overseas posting policies and procedures for home companies

At the same time, the paper offers insightful findings on gender discrimination and stereotyping that can prove useful for governments and multinationals.

It is found that gender discrimination is more prevalent for higher managerial positions as higher managerial positions are less influenced by academic credentials viz-a-viz entry level jobs where educational qualifications is one of the main criteria ( Powell 1999)

It has been very well brought out in the research that reasons such as low work commitment levels due to family responsibilities and lack of masculine personality traits such as aggression or strong achievement orientation do not exit and nor do they hinder a women employees’ performance (Brett and Stroh 1994).The author has sited good number of studies that indicate that women are contributing significantly across cultures and levels , however, that in no way suggests that gender stereotyping and discriminations exits and at what levels. Tzeng 2006 has interviewed 21 women for this study that came from across the globe and included women with different ethnicities and backgrounds. The respondents’ had diverse educational and cultural background and represented the top, middle and lower management levels. According to Tzeng 2006 all the respondents had positive perceptions and understanding as to why they have chosen or they have been chosen for the international assignment. For each one of them it was either taken up because the spouse was moving internationally or because for most of them the company had chosen them for a particular assignment for which she possessed the necessary skill sets or because the respondent herself opted for an international assignment as part of career growth and international exposure. According to the feedback Tzeng got from the respondents.

One limitation that Tzeng shares is that most women expatriates were not aware whether they were chosen as the first choice for the assignment or was it to fill in for a male counterpart who may have refused  the same position. All of them have assumed that the selection process was as it was meant to be, fair and objective. Moreover, legal requirements in home countries of these expatriates compelled them to believe that their respective organizations cannot engage in gender discrimination at any level.

Though the gist of the research is that gender stereotyping and discrimination exists, the author elaborating on how women expatriates do not feel they experienced any bias against them, only contradicts the key findings of the paper.

Findings from this research suggest that while women expatriates do not face any discrimination as they are viewed as “foreigners”, expatriates in the host country, of the same origin face a greater challenge as they are compared to the local women norms. According to Tzeng, there is evidence that there is support and contradiction for what Adler 1994 proposes. According to Adler  in the host countries, women expatriates are not subject to comparison with local norms for female behaviour as they are views as “foreigners” .“

 There is a distinct difference in female expatriates compared to nationals in the host country and therefore, multinational firms ,especially American firms are now frequently trying to send employees who are originally from the host country on overseas assignments .(Tzeng 2006)

Tzeng purports that expatriates who were from the host country faced greater discrimination as they were compared to the local norms for women and women employees and not seen in the capacity in which they are really contributing. It has been apparent after interviewing the sample of women expatriates that your ethnic origin plays a role in determining whether you will be confronted at work place gender discrimination. Women expatriates who were not from the host country were treated more as foreigners and therefore not judged as per local norms for female behaviour.Empowering women expatriates by putting her in a authoritative position can greatly lessen the gender discrimination and stereotyping is another interesting finding from the author. The author has narrated some interesting experiences from the respondents that go to show that in a powerful position can play a crucial role in preventing gender discrimination.

Research also indicates that “split – household” (Glen 1983) is no longer unusual and spouses are living in separate locations to carry on with their jobs.  Spouses are now increasingly supportive and willing to slow down for moving together and men are as willing to take a backseat professionally as women.  The respondents in Tseng’s study have all indicated that their “transnational” familial status (Parrenas and Lima 2001) is due to their own individual choices.  The research elaborates on the growing support men and women are giving each others’ profession, where, it is not unusual to find a husband even quit his job and take care of household matter if the wife is doing well. This also contradicts the author’s proposition of women facing a tussle to carry on with their jobs in case of international assignments.One major area of concern highlighted by the author has been women struggling with and being concerned about raising their children while doing international assignments. As per the respondents in Tzeng’s research, all women expatriates felt guilty about their absence from home and being away from children, even though, all of them arrange for nannies, or someone from the family to be with the children and take care of all their needs.  They also felt that international exposure for their family was a great opportunity for gaining international perspective.  There is enough evidence of women expatriates having social support that enables them to go ahead with their international postings and therefore, they are not victims of gender discrimination as is believed. There is some discrimination, however, things are not as bleak as it appears in the beginning of the paper and the author is contradicting the purpose of the study by these findings.

Summary

The purpose of IHRM is to enable the firm, the multi- national enterprise, to be successful globally” (Schuler, Budhwar, and Florkowoski 2004, Gender and International Human Resource Management).International Human Resource Management is the process of procuring, allocating and effectively utilizing human resources in multinational corporations, while balancing the integration and differentiation of HR activities in foreign locations (NUS Business School).   Research indicates that IHRM is not usually examined from a gender perspective.  The author is a Research Fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taiwan and has conducted the research in the multinational corporations in Taiwan to examine how female expatriates face gender stereotyping and discrimination in their home and host countries and how they reconcile their conflicts and strike a balance between home and work.

The research paper serves as a good tool to understand the various barriers women expatriates can potentially experience and that can be highly useful in IHRM practices as organizations and governments can together work towards tacking these potential roadblocks. This would also reduce costs associated with foreign assignments as employees will not cut short their stint due to potential hindrances. There is hardly any studies on IHRM and gender and therefore, more studies like this can bring to light an issue that may be under – addressed.According to Tzeng 2006 laws that have implications for equal employment opportunities are more effective in safeguarding women employees against discrimination at the entry level positions compared to more senior managerial positions. Despite research indicating that women employees possess the personality traits and managerial skills that are required for higher managerial positions and prestigious international assignments the ratio of women to men is insignificant even today especially with regard to International assignments . According to a study by Moran and Riesenberger 1994 number of women expatriates is increasing but not at the same pace as women working in their respective domestic labour markets.

 According to Tzeng 2006 there are certain presumptions that are made that act as barriers for women wanting to work overseas. Despite large scale research indicating that women are at par with men be with personality attributed or professional qualifications in some cases assumptions out do facts and women employees may not be sent due to supposed lack of motivation, lack of required qualification, concerns about physical safety of the employee, ability to cope with loneliness and isolation and spousal issues.

According to Adler 1994  significant research has shown that gender discrimination does exist for instance many companies will only send women expatriates for assignments that have been turned down by their male counterparts, thus setting limitations for them with regard to opportunities available, scope of work, and tenure. The author has not included women who were aware that they have been given the overseas positions after a male counterpart rejected the opportunity. Also, all respondents stated that they were not aware and did not believe that they were the second choice and chosen for the assignment because a male counterpart rejected the offer. Each respondent in the study has indicated that the selection for the international posting was purely based on the job requirement and the most suitable candidates for that were chosen.

The article provides a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages women expatriates experience, though at places the author is proposing gender discrimination exists while using data that contradicts this statement to elucidate.  The sample used by the author could have been more exhaustive and the situation could have been more controlled by gaining access to information from companies that would have thrown light on the selection criteria for international assignments.

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