Despite tumultuous world events, U.S. firms indicate that expatriate activity, would remain steady or actually increase, according to the "2003 Global Relocation Trends Survey," sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management, GMAC Global Relocation Services and the National Foreign Trade Council. This optimistic view comes from the fact that respondents—77 percent which work for U.S.-based multinational companies—said 45 percent of business revenue comes from outside the home country.

"Respondents report that their primary source of revenue is generated overseas," says E. James Simon, president of GMAC Global Relocation Services. "As a result, it is not surprising that, even with the challenges of war, terrorism, global recession and corporate ethic issues, companies are still increasing the number of people sent on international assignments."

Your multi-national employer is experiencing similar overseas growth and has a continual need for expatriates. Yet, senior management seems to be overlooking a very integral, qualified segment of the expatriate candidate pool: women.

Myth #1: Women won't go or can't go on overseas assignments.

Why the oversight? Likely because of myths associated with women working overseas, says Anne Copeland, executive director of the Interchange Institute in Brookline, Mass. "Women often face an invisible glass ceiling when it comes to global assignments because the first assumption is that women won't want to go or can't go because of trailing spouse or other family issues, such as children.

"Men are much more likely to be approached and asked to take an international assignment. But for women, it's typically left up to them to step forward and express their desire for an overseas assignment as opposed to them being automatically considered," she says.

Noel Kriecker, president of Northbrook, Ill.-based the IOR World Group, an international consulting firm specializing in assisting organizations in all aspects of doing business overseas, agrees: "Corporations don't consciously think about tapping women. The mindset is not there yet because the candidate pool has not been developed."

At Abbott International, developing a talent pool that includes women for global assignments has become a diversity initiative, as well as a business priority, considering the fact that the company's client base is made up of more women, as well as its own workforce.

Whether selling pharmaceutical supplies to doctors or nutritional products to consumers, the global sales force needs to mirror the buyers, explains Delores Patterson, manager of headquarters human resources and diversity programs, in Abbott Park, Ill. Abbott operates in 130 countries and has affiliates in more than 52 countries.

A key position that requires a continuous feeder pool is general manager positions for locations around the world. "There is a lot of churn with general managers changing roles, making internal moves," Patterson explains. "To support the development of global leaders, and to build a pipeline of general managers, Abbott implemented a global leader program. While the program is not developed specifically for women, it has provided a great opportunity to identify high-potential females who would benefit from leadership programs while preparing them for general manager positions. In addressing the challenge of developing women as leaders, we started to take advantage of many of the resources already in existence. These include active succession planning roles and development of growth plans."

Currently, 23 percent of managers working for Abbott outside the United States are women. "We have women working as managers in countries such as France, Germany, Taiwan, Ireland and Turkey," Patterson says.

Indeed, barriers do exist that hinder women from becoming expatriates. But as Patterson will tell you, based on research and her own experience, "it's not because women can't or won't go, it's more likely due to the fact that women have been less visible to senior management, lacked the appropriate networking channels, or were not given challenging assignments to prepare them for overseas work."

A 2000 Catalyst study of 718 U.S. management-level or above employees, who worked overseas or were given global responsibilities that required frequent travel abroad, confirms that getting selected for overseas assignments was the biggest hurdle for women. Another key survey finding: Of the expatriates who had relocated, 80 percent of women have never turned down a relocation compared to 71 percent of men.

In fact, the amount of expatriate activity among women was 18 percent in 2002, according to the "Global Relocation Trends Survey," the highest level in the survey's history. By 2005, it's predicted that 20 percent of the expatriate population will be women.

Myth #2: Because of cultural issues abroad, woman global managers will be less effective than their male counterparts.

What research and actual experiences of women expatriates have discovered is that American women are treated as foreigners who happen to be women; they are not treated in the same way as local women. Willa Hallowell, partner of Cornelius & Grove international consulting firm, explains: "When a competent professional American female goes abroad, her local colleagues notice that she is female, but in most cases do not mentally classify her with female coworkers. They either classify her strictly as a high-status professional or they are unsure how to classify her because she is outside their range of experience."

A female expatriate in Japan explained to Hallowell: "I had round eyes and blond hair�which placed me in the category of 'weird animal.' Despite the fact that I also spoke Japanese, the overriding category for me was Gaijin (foreigner).

At Abbott, "a woman coming from the United States is actually seen as beneficial because she came from headquarters," Patterson says. "Locals view a woman or man in this kind of situation as the person with extreme knowledge and know-how."

"Most women who make it to these positions," says Noel Kriecker, "are considered by others as having already 'made it,' so they are accepted."

Employers can help pave the way by "formally introducing the expatriate as the expert in the field, highlighting the individual's accomplishments and knowledge, says Copeland, "essentially introducing the expatriate as the star."

Overcoming the Myths

Can a woman expatriate succeed if sent to Japan? What about Moslem countries; will woman expatriates be successful? Some employers won't even ask these questions. Instead, they assume it won't work, thereby creating the biggest barrier for women.

Women themselves have the same fears, raised often times because they've had conversations with male and female executives who have no experience working in these countries, says Nancy Adler, professor of organizational behavior and cross-cultural management at McGill University in Montreal and a leading researcher and author on women in global business. She tells this true-life dilemma:

"Valana, a senior financial analyst for a major pharmaceutical company was offered a regional vice presidency in Japan. Given the company's new start-up operations in Pakistan, the position in Japan would involve considerable travel to this Islamic country.

Her initial fear was that no woman could succeed in Japan or Pakistan. Her real fear was that if she accepted the position, she would be setting herself up for failure. To get accurate tips on how to succeed in such cultures, I suggested that Valana restrict her advice-gathering to conversations with other North American and European women who had worked for major multinationals in Japan or Pakistan."

What Valana discovered, says Adler, is that the majority of these women have unquestionably succeeded.

Moving Beyond the Barriers

What actions can employers, hiring managers and high-potential woman take to break the woman expatriate barrier? Education and research that includes conversations with real-life expatriates is key-as well as these tips from the experts:

• Ask the hard questions. "People in roles like mine have to first ask managers the challenging questions," Patterson says. "We have to make the effort to start pushing and asking managers to consider what's a good opportunity and right for the business. "Developing women as global leaders is like having a great idea but not doing anything about it. There has to be a starting point, a push to show why it's necessary."
• Piggyback on leadership and development programs that exist. Much of the work Patterson has done to develop women for global assignments was integrated with programs and processes Abbott already had in place. "Utilize those existing programs," Patterson suggests, "and make sure management is accountable."
• Don't underestimate assets women bring to business relationships. "Research shows that personality traits dominant in women can really help them on international assignments," Copeland says. "Women are very good with nonverbal cues, for example, a very powerful tool overseas. Besides the nonverbal behavior strengths, women tend to live in connection with people and tend to develop strong networks, which are essential skills for overseas assignments and working in relationship-rich business cultures."
• Get to know your own culture. "The major thing we do in training is help people get to know their own culture so they can understand how they will fit into a new one," Copeland says. "Stylistic differences in communication is vast when looking at how people in the United States communicate compared to their Latin American and European counterparts."
• Ask before you hire cross-cultural trainers. If an employer is going to offer the soon-to-be woman expatriate cross-cultural training, check with the potential trainer to see if he or she has experience with relocating women to overseas assignments.
• Make a smooth-move transition. "A sense of humor and a sense of perspective are key things for any expatriate to possess," Copeland says. "Keep an eye not on the gender issue, but on the work that needs to be done. Understand that there may be bumps in the road that will have to be dealt with."
• Social situations vary country to country. In Asia, woman typically do not go out at night alone because it is not culturally acceptable. "One can't move as freely," explains Elizabeth Hermann, director of training for IOR World Group. In addition, business networking while enjoying the night life is common practice in Asia. Women may be uncomfortable in these types of social situations, says Hermann. One woman expatriate told Adler: "Among all my male colleagues, I am the only one who has consistently maintained relationships with Japanese clients without needing to put my liver in jeopardy. I can get away with conducting business over lunch and a Perrier; the men can't."
• Conducting business also varies by country. "In the Mideast and Latin America, women in power positions, may need to take along a man assistant to be the voice or hire a local front man to attend business conversations," Hermann says. It is common for both men and women to hire a local "go-between" who is male when conducting business in Japan.
• Ensure that business cards send the right message. Hermann tells a story of a woman having difficulty working with a colleague in India because the male colleague at the India division thought she was "below" him in professional status instead of "above" him. The Indian male would refuse to speak with this woman and go directly to her male boss. When looking at the situation, it was discovered that the woman's title, which was very general in nature, may be more of the issue than her gender. "Companies need to understand the importance of the title on business cards," Hermann says. "In many places, such as in Asia, the title a professional holds is very important because the business structure is more hierachical in nature."
• Household help often eases family- and child-care struggles. Expatriates in some destinations, such as Asia, can afford household help that they would not typically have in their home country. Hiring staff to cook and perform household duties can certainly provide a smoother transition for women with family and child-care needs.

Michelle Martinez is a Leesburg, Va.-based freelance writer specializing in human resource and workplace management issues.