ABSTRACT

Over the years the rapid pace of global activity and global competition has resulted in international work assignments gaining in importance and an increasing number of employees spending some of their working lives abroad. Given the strategic importance of foreign assignments in establishing worldwide cooperation and maintaining the quality of human resources, their effective management and development have become crucial factors for the success of global business. But, as the willingness of employees to go abroad appears to be declining in some western countries and the possible future lack of an adequate and sufficient qualified recruitment pool for global assignments, identifying, attracting, developing and retaining international talent becomes a key challenge for multinational corporations (MNCs) (Atlas Van Lines 2001;

Greene 2001).A look at the rate of women’s participation in international management shows that the percentage of female managers varies by country but, overall, is less than 17% of total expatriate staff (Taylor et al. 2002; GMAC Global Relocation Services 2003). Women, therefore, seem to be an underutilized resource, a fact companies cannot afford as they come under increasing pressure from global competition. This under-representation is significant as more women are now entering lower level managerial positions. Interestingly, the increased participation of women in the workforce has been one of the major changes in recent years, and it is anticipated that this trend will continue (Davidson and Burke 2004).