Key Issues in the Senior Female International Career Move: A Qualitative Study in a European Context
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00187 |
| Date | 01 March 2001 |
| Author | James S. Walsh,Margaret Linehan |
| Published date | 01 March 2001 |
Introduction
One of the most significant features of the global
labour market in the last half of the twentieth
century was the increasing labour force partici-
pation rate of women. In recent years, in
particular, there has been an increase in the
number of women pursuing managerial careers
(Gordon and Whelan, 1998; Harris, 1995).
According to Vinnicombe and Colwill (1995),
women occupy only about 10% of management
positions in Europe and women managers remain
concentrated in junior and middle-management
positions. It is difficult, however, to put an accurate
figure on the numbers of women in management
in Europe, because different countries have a
different definition of a ‘manager’, and in many
countries there are no regularized systems of
gathering statistics in this area (Vinnicombe and
Colwill, 1995, p. 3). Davidson and Cooper (1993),
for instance, suggest that fewer than 5% of senior
management positions in Europe are occupied by
women, and that this figure may be as low as 2%
in the United Kingdom (p. 13).
The figures for the number of women pursuing
international managerial careers at a senior level,
that is, who relocate to a different country to
work for an extended period, remain at between
2–5% (Adler, 1984; Harris, 1995; Reynolds and
Bennett, 1991). Most research on women in
management has been conducted in the United
States, with little attention given to this topic in
other countries (Berthoin-Antal and Izraeli, 1993,
p. 56). Adler and Izraeli (1988) found that, while
organizations may be prepared to promote women
through their domestic managerial hierarchy, few
British Journal of Management, Vol. 12, 85–95 (2001)
© 2001 British Academy of Management
Key Issues in the Senior Female
International Career Move: A Qualitative
Study in a European Context
Margaret Linehan and James S. Walsh*
Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork and
*Department of Management and Marketing, University College, Cork, Ireland
email: mlinehan@cit.ie(linehan); jw@ucc.ie(*Walsh)
Research investigating the position of women in management has, largely, been
confined within national boundaries. Over the last 15 years, empirical studies of women
in international management have been undertaken, predominantly in North America.
Overall, however, in this research field, many questions remain unanswered or have
been only partially addressed. The particular focus of this study is on the senior female
international managerial career move in Europe – a relatively unexplored area. Fifty
senior female expatriate managers were interviewed, representing a wide range of
industry and service sectors. The aims of the study were to develop an understanding
of the senior female international career move in a European context in order to
more fully understand both the covert and overt barriers that may limit women’s
international career opportunities. The results of the study show that the senior inter-
national career move has largely been developed along a linear male model of career
progression, a development which, taken together with gender disparity both in
organizations and family responsibilities, frequently prevents women employees from
reaching senior managerial positions. The findings suggest that organizations which
adopt a proactive approach to female expatriate managers should have a competitive
advantage in the international environment.
To continue reading
Request your trial