Difficulties for Women Expatriates in India. HR Project

A research project on

Difficulties faced by Women Expatriates In India

Subject:

Cross-Culture Issues in International Business

Prepared by:

Amit Dodwani(03)

2010-12 PGP-IBM

Ahmedabad Management Association

Topic Page no.

1 | P a g e

Introduction

Background

Problem Disscussion

Purpose

3

4

5

5

Literature Review 6

Article 8

Methodology

Research Purpose

Research Approach

Research Strategy

Data Collection

Sample Selection

Data Analysis

12

12

12

13

13

13

14

Conclusion 15

Questionnaire 16

Introduction

2 | P a g e

In recent years, business operations have become increasingly internationalized. This

phenomenon has resulted in a greater number of managers being sent abroad. In fact, it is

estimated that over 100,000 expatriates are relocated to work in the United States alone each

year. From the company’s perspective, the importance of a manager’s successful

performance overseas cannot be underestimated.

Nowadays, corporate earnings generated abroad account for more than 40% of

company revenues. As global operations become strategically more important, so does the

role of the managers in charge of these operations abroad. Now more than ever, there is a

need to hire the most qualified and talented managerial staff to occupy international job posts.

The growing internationalization of business operations has not been accompanied by

an equally proportionate number of male and females occupying global positions. In fact,

women continue to be grossly underrepresented in management positions abroad. In the late

1980’s, women occupied less than 3% of international management positions.

The situation seems to have improved at least moderately so in the past decade. A

study of 225 expatriates from a variety of countries revealed that 11% of the respondents

were female. More recently, Tung’s (1997) study of 409 U.S. expatriates found that 13.9% of

respondents Suplemento / Supplement were female. Despite these moderate improvements in

the number of women occupying managerial posts abroad, there still exists a significant lack

of female managers overseas.

Indeed, the poor representation of expatriate women managers stand in marked

contrast to the gains made by women in obtaining management positions in the domestic

arena. A recent study conducted by the Families and Work Institute, a New York nonprofit

consulting and research group, discovered that 39% of women in the U.S. hold executive,

administrative and managerial positions, up 12% from 1977.

The under-representation of women in international managerial positions is

significant in three important regards. First, it is highly unethical to exclude women from

consideration for international posts based on one’s own perception that they might not be

interested. Adler’s (1986) study of one thousand graduating MBA’s from top schools in the

U.S. proved that this perception is in fact erroneous. Her results indicated that male and

female MBA’s displayed equal interest in pursuing international careers.

3 | P a g e

As India is developing nation and has tremendous potential to grow, many MNCs are

trying their best to enter in Indian market. And hence many expatriates come in India these

days. They bring FDI into the nation, which is better to the nation. We should welcome it by

open hands. But indeed, there are many problems faced by foreign expatriate, who come long

way from their home to work in India. And especially women expatriate, in this research

project we are trying to trace that this problem do exist or not, and if yes to what extent. It is

really difficult to overcome the problems faced in new country, along with home-sickness.

With this research we will identify and try to provide solution for the same.

Background

International human resource management

MNCs operate in a complex and uncertain environment, which creates a unique set of

organisational, co-ordination and managerial issues for managers in MNCs and as a result the

significance of people management are becoming more and more realized by managers in

multinational firms, given that it may ensure profitability and capability of the business

operations to succeed.

The Role of Expatriates

Human resources play an important part in developing and sustaining competitive

advantage and expatriates are used in both short and long-term assignments. Expatriates are

defined as people who live and work away from their home country, and are citizens of the

counry where multinational corporations is headquartered. The tasks of the expatriates may

be to acquire and transfer technology, manage a foreign subsidiary, fill a staffing need,

maintaining communication and developglobal leadership competence.

The Expatriation Cycle

An important part of the IHRM approach is the decision of whether to use an

expatriate for international assignment or employ a local. If the decision is to send an

axpatriate, there are several steps that are significant and in need of discussion before the

expatriate is sent to his or her mission. The stages constitute cycle and are shown below.

4 | P a g e

Problem Discussion

With the increasing no. of male and female expatriates coming in India, there is problem

faced by many of the women expatriates to settle in India because of vast cultural differences

in India and especially between western countries. Hence we shall identify what are problems

faced by women in India and try to find solution to the problem thereafter.

They are treated like celebrities and on the contrary they are teased. So we are trying to

identify the problems by random sampling of 5 samples of expatriates and to trace what sort

of problems they suffer on their living in India.

Purpose

To identify and acknowledge people about problems faced by expatriates in India currently.

And to make aware people of the consequences of harassing foreign expatriates.

Literature Review

5 | P a g e

Stategic Planning

Selection

PreparationPerformance management

Repatriation

It is a widely commented that the rapid pace of globalisation has led to increased

global activity and global competition. This global phenomenon has ultimately emphasized

the critical importance of international human resource management (IHRM) and its aim to

enable the Multinational company (MNC) to be successful on a global front as well as the

ever-rising importance of global assignments The literature reveals that within the globalizing

nature of our times, the very notion of an international assignment and international employee

is changing and expanding, to one that looks beyond the concept of a traditional expatriate

sent on assignment by their organisation, to a more diverse set of international employees.

Collings, Scullion and Morely, (2007) call for a more strategic approach to be taken when it

comes to staffing in the international context and they outline the new and old challenges of

using traditional expatriates and highlight the many alternatives to using them. The more

contemporary difficulties with using traditional expatriates can be seen with the emerging

markets; requirements for expatriates such as visas and permits; Career issues (dual-career) as

well as the impact that 9/11 has had on the international labour force (p 200).

Other areas of concern according to Collings et al (2007) are the limited participation

of women in international management, repatriation issues and weak international talent

management systems (p.200-202). The paradoxical nature of this is twofold; even though

there is a shortage of international managers there is still a shortage of women in international

management and these shortages exist despite the evidence in recent research that indicates

that female managers are successful in their global assignments (Tung, 2004). Given that the

success of women on global assignments has been highlighted, Janssens, Cappellen and

Zanoni (2006) point out that there continues to be a lack of research in this area and argue

that there should be more academic research conducted illustrating female success on a

global front.

Women expatriates in the Literature

Interest in women expatriates was initiated just over 20 years ago by Izraeli, Banai

and Zeira, (1980). This was soon followed with two studies by Adler (1984a, 1984b) who

sought to discredit myths about women and expatriation by assessing and illustrating the

desires of women to have international careers. Since these academic contributions, barring

research on the female spouse of an expatriate, there has been a number of works done on

women expatriates. These studies have included research on why there are so few women

expatriates as international managers as well as barriers to their participation, gender and

6 | P a g e

personality differences between women and men as well as research considering the cross-

cultural adjustment of female expatriates and the success of female expatriates.

The literature revealed that addressing the issue of female expatriates and the disparity

in numbers between male and female expatriates is due to Multinational Companies (MNCs)

ignoring the need for flexibility in their Human Resources. Stroh and Caligiuiri (1998) point

out that managers of MNCs’ have recognised the need to be adaptable with their products,

finances, marketing and so on in order to compete effectively. However, it appears that, too

often they overlook the most critical aspect of business that needs to be adaptable and that is

their human resources. Linehan and Scullion (2001) draw attention to a number of studies

that have found that very few women are given the opportunity to progress in their careers

through international assignment.

Research conducted by Linehan and Scullion (2001) on senior female expatriate

managers across Europe, suggested that a main barrier for women in international assignment

is actually getting to senior management position in their home country first. In slight

contrast to Linehan and Scullion Vol. 3, No. 10 International Journal of Business and

Management (2001), Moore (2002) maintains that women are for the most part equally

represented across the middle management pool from which expatriates are selected from.

However, Kollinger (2005) convincingly argues that the reduce participation of

women on the international front is a gender-related problem not an assignment related one

and that in order to fill this gap, efforts need to be made to increase the numbers of female

managers and employees in general (p. 1256-1257). Hartl (2004, p. 40) asserts that the lack

of women expatriates is a reflection of a ‘domestic glass ceiling’ and not an indication of

their ineffectiveness on international assignments or their willingness to relocate.

These arguments bring to light the concept of the glass-ceiling and the struggles of

women in breaking through it (Linehan & Scullion, 2001) However, there is a sense of hope

in the optimistic assertion of Crowley-Henry & Weir (2007) that women and especially

international women are in fact breaking through the glass ceiling at a gradual and evolving

pace.

Although the majority of those sent on international assignment are male there are a

rising number of women entering the global management arena according to Selmer and

Leung (2003a). The figure is placed at 13 per cent by Moore (2002) with contemporary

statistics showing discrepancies in the percentage of women on expatriate assignment. The

2005 GMAC global relocation survey report places the figure at 23% and the 2005

PricewaterhouseCoopers key trends report the figure to be at around 10% and to be stable

7 | P a g e

with little changes in the number of female expatriates over the last 10 years. It is useful to

point out that the figure Moore (2002) puts forward is more in line with the statistics

indicated by PWC (2005).

Other research illustrates a number of other reasons for the lack of female expatriate

managers, such as closed and informal selection systems that may be male-biased (Selmer &

Leung, 2003a) or limited networking opportunities of women in management (Linehan &

Scullion, 2001), compared with men who have more co-workers in their networks giving

them a professional advantage (Myers & Pringle, 2005), others such as Moore (2002) has

focused on the perceptions that prevail in the corporate world about the capability and

willingness of women to relocate for international assignment and the author challenges the

perception that womens’ inability to relocate is in most part due to issues associated with

dual-career couples.

The literature on female expatriation highlights that women are still a minority in

international management and are still under-represented in the mostly white male, North

American dominated research literature on expatriation (Napier & Taylor, 2002; Hartl, 2004;

Linehan & Scullion, 2001).

Cultural Adjustment

An employee who is sent to a foreign country on a long-term assignment, an

expatriate, will in most cases need time to adjust to the new circumstances. In many

cases the expatriate brings his or her spouse and children, and since the family will

live in the country just as long as the expatriate, the whole family will have to adjust

to the general environment and learn how to interact with host nationals. In addition,

the expatriate will also have to adjust to new work conditions.

The U-curveThe adjustment process can be divided into several steps, or phases, very oftendisplayed as a U-shaped curve (see Figure 1) where the expatriate first enjoys thesituation of being in an “exotic” culture, then realizes the degree of adjustment that isnecessary, before a slow adaptation takes place (Selmer et al., 1998; Selmer, 1999).Oberg (1960) described the first of four phases as a period of fascination, where littlecontact is taken with locals and only in a polite and gracious way. A very important

8 | P a g e

person would often be met with great respect and treated well, only getting theopportunity to see the good sides of the new culture. This phase is often called the“honeymoon phase” and only lasts until the individual starts to experience day-to-daylife (Oberg, 1960; Black & Gregersen, 1991b; Selmer, 1999). It is sometimes referredto as the “tourist phase” (Selmer, 1999) or the “spectator phase” (Torbiörn, 1976, p.155). Many circumstances affect the duration of this phase and it may last from only a7couple of days or weeks to six months (Oberg, 1960), but the honeymoon phaseusually ends around two months after arrival (Black & Gregersen, 1991b).The happy, fascinating and problem-free first period then makes a steep turndownwards towards a culture shock, where the individual realizes the difficulties inadjustment (Oberg, 1960). The reasons to why culture shock happens are many, butthey can be concluded as a combination of these factors: stress as a result of feelingobliged to make many adjustments; a sense of loss in regard to friends, status orpossessions; rejection by (or against) people of the host country; confusion in selfidentity,roles and expectations; surprise, anxiety and even disgust over culturaldifferences; and feeling incapable of coping with the new environment (Selmer, 1999,p. 517; Oberg, 1960).

9 | P a g e

Figure 1. The U-curve and the four phases of cultural adjustment (Black & Mendenhall, 1991, p. 227).The culture shock phase is part of a normal process that a majority of all expatriatesexperience, even experienced expatriates who have been on many internationalassignments before (Selmer, 1999). What may start as minor things in the day-to-daylife (e.g. trouble with school, transportation, language) may altogether evolve intosomething that can cause symptoms as anxiety, irritability, feeling of helplessness anda desire to depend on other long-termers from the same country (Oberg, 1960;Selmer, 1999). Some people never leave the culture shock phase and stay hostile

10 | P a g e

towards the host nationals throughout the time of the assignment. Other people who8never learn to cope with the situation return home earlier or choose to only socializewith other expatriates until it is time to go home (Selmer, 1999).For the expatriates who decide to stay, a long period of adaptation can be expected,usually referred to as the “adjustment phase” (Black & Mendenhall, 1991), the“recovery stage” (Selmer, 1999) or the “conformist phase” (Selmer et al., 1998),which constitutes the third phase. A good way to cope with the situation is to learn thelocal language, or at least some of it (Oberg, 1960). Knowledge of the local languagedoes in most cases help the individual to understand “cultural codes” – norms inbehavior and social patterns that can be typical for a certain culture. The ignorance ofthese cultural codes is often the reason for misinterpretations of signals andexpectations (Torbiörn, 1976, p. 59). Instead of complaining about themisunderstandings and difficulties, in this phase it is not uncommon to start jokingabout the people and the difficulties that arise due to the cultural differences (Oberg,1960). Even though the adjustment process has started, a lot of the feelings andexperiences from the culture shock still remain, which makes it difficult to draw aclear line between the two phases (Grove & Torbiörn, 1985).The fourth phase, the “mastery stage”, or “completion phase”, happens when theindividual is so well adjusted that he or she can function effectively in the newenvironment (Black & Mendenhall, 1991; Grove & Torbiörn, 1985, Oberg, 1960).The individual’s cultural skills may develop further, but are at this stage sufficient tofunction without a feeling of anxiety or discomfort (Oberg, 1960; Grove & Torbiörn,1985). Therefore, Oberg (1960) reasons that there are in fact two types of completeadjustment, one that is more complete than the other. Instead of just accepting thelocal food, drinks, habits and customs, the expatriate may actually start to enjoy them.

11 | P a g e

When the assignment is finished, the expatriate may miss the culture and the peopleso much that it will be a difficult time to readjust to the home country (Oberg, 1960).Several variations of the U-curve exist. The U-curve has sometimes been criticizedfor not taking the repatriation process into account, and therefore a W-shaped curve ofthe whole process has been presented, extending the U-curve until after the expatriatehas returned to his or her home country (Selmer, 1999). A J-shaped curve has alsobeen suggested, where the basic difference from the U-curve is that the honeymoon9phase is shorter or even non-existent (Black & Mendenhall, 1991). The U-curve is,however, the most commonly accepted as well as the most used model explaining theadjustment process, thus making it the chosen model for this study.

Facilitating Efficient AdjustmentOberg stated as early as 1960 that knowledge about the nature of cultures and how itaffects the individual is valuable to make it through the culture shock phase. The threeindividual dimensions mentioned (self-oriented, others-oriented and perceptualdimensions) are all important for being successful in a new cultural environment(Black & Mendenhall, 1990). Mendenhall & Oddou (1985) propose two things tofacilitate cross-cultural adjustment: (1) extend the selection criteria from onlyfocusing on technical competence to also include skills in line with the individualdimensions; and (2) prepare the expatriates with appropriate CCT programs. Manyother researchers have also suggested CCT to smooth the progress of the adjustmentprocess (Black & Mendenhall, 1990). Grove and Torbiörn (1985) state that a

12 | P a g e

universal training program cannot be presented, but has to be designed according toboth the context of the assignment and the individual characteristics of the expatriate.According to Caligiuri et al. (2001), CCT has three main objectives: (1) enable theexpatriate to determine how to perform job tasks and behave appropriately in the newculture; (2) help the expatriate to handle unexpected events and reduce culturalconflicts; and (3) help the expatriate to develop realistic expectations about the job11and the day-to-day life in the new culture. As for any learning process, there existseveral training methods. Some may suit one situation better than another, and somemay be combined to achieve better results. The most commonly used methods arepresented in the following part.

How to be an Expatriate in India

Article and photos by Sonya Natalia Heaney

13 | P a g e

Life as an Expatriate in India

We pass by the home of an Australian family as we leave the airport road. They, too,

have gone away for the holiday season, but we will catch up when they return. Like many of

our friends here, we met them at an international social gathering. Reluctant as most are to

involve themselves in expatriate organizations when a whole new and exciting cultural

adventure looms, it is something nobody should overlook when making the move overseas.

No matter how ready you may feel to be in an entirely new place, homesickness hits

everybody at some point. No other country—regardless of how similar it may seem on the

outside—is the same as home. And for the Westerner, India is going to seem very different

from home, inside and out.

Drivers of vehicles that pull up alongside us in the traffic jam do double-takes at the

sight of us in the back seat. There is no way for an expatriate not to stand out in India. In a

land heaving with well over a billion people, there is nothing like a head of blond hair and

alarmingly white skin to bring a crowded street to a standstill.

The country still runs strongly on an age-old caste system in which there is no place

for us, and so we are immediately elevated to celebrity status. Invitations to dine at the homes

of work colleagues and household staff, as well as to attend a relentless stream of weddings,

flow in endlessly. One should not be surprised when strangers approach you in the street and

ask to have their picture taken with you. My night-time visit to Mysore Palace, for example,

14 | P a g e

resulted in an hour spent posing for photographs while all of the Indian tourists lined up for a

chance to meet the blond woman instead of looking at the bright lights of one of the world’s

most magnificent palaces.

Sometimes this attention is good, sometimes bad. Sexual harassment (or Eve-teasing,

as you will no doubt hear the locals refer to it) and sexual assault are major problems in India.

Hands and elbows straying to cop a feel of me when I walk down a street are not uncommon.

Das hits the brakes suddenly to avoid a pothole and apologizes to us before finally

turning onto our street. We are cut off from most of the noise, hassle and rubbish of the main

road. With a park at one end, a large churchyard in the middle, and leafy low-rise apartment

complexes lining either side, our choice of home in India is a little different to what most

expatriates seek out.

There are plenty neat and new gated housing areas springing up on the outskirts of the

city, where houses come multi-storeyed with neat lawns and safe play areas, and where the

domestic staff appears to outnumber residents. Such places are ideal for expatriates who have

children in tow, and also for those who wish to hide away entirely from what can become a

frustrating place to live in.

But we have chosen an apartment in central and apparently upscale Richmond Town,

from which we can drive down the road to great shopping and dining whenever we like, and

where India is there to experience when we want to—and easy enough to hide away from

when we need a break. Our Indian neighbors have embraced us wholeheartedly, and we

always seem to be heading out to dine or party with people in our area.

15 | P a g e

At Home in India

Our guard opens the gate for us, and after he stops the car, Das insists on taking all of

our bags to our door. We open up all the windows and then step out onto the balcony to check

on the progress of the new church garden. A few monkeys run across the wall a few floors

down. We will have to keep an eye on them; they have a tendency to sneak into homes and

steal food.

Luckily for us there is nothing to eat in the apartment, and so we will be walking

down to the market soon. Unlike most expatriates and higher caste Indians, we do not have a

maid or a cook for our household, and this is a decision we are very happy to have made. It is

a personal choice, and many foreign residents are happy to have a local there to do the

shopping and take care of everything around the house. However—with a streak of

confidence we found within ourselves—we have taken the opportunity to explore the many

food stores around our area, and are now as much a fixture of the market one block away as

any of the stallholders.

Our phone rings and it is a Japanese friend reminding me about an international

women’s coffee morning. In Bangaluru the Overseas Women’s Club was originally for

Americans only, before expanding to include any woman who either came from overseas or

16 | P a g e

could claim to have lived overseas for a sufficient period of time. In a changing world, the

association has grown to include men whose partners moved to India for work.

I accept the invitation and my mind turns to what time to ask Das to be there in the

morning. The shock of returning to this unconventional place is already starting to wear off.

It is—for some inexplicable reason—surprisingly easy to call India home.

Article and photos by Sonya Natalia Heaney

‘I am an Indian, living in Europe. 

Well, I completely agree with you.  Though, India is not clean and crowded but the people

are more friendly and helpful. 

I lived in Egypt as well as in Croatia and Italy.  Egypt is not a clean country like Italy or

Croatia, but the people there are more friendly.  If I had a choice between Europe and Egypt,

I would choose Egypt at any time. 

After living in abroad for several years, I realized that it is not the country that makes you

happy! Its the people! 

With the right people even living in hell would be heaven!’

By Vignesh.

17 | P a g e

Methodology:-

The aim of the study is to learn about the professional women who live and work in

India as opposed to building or testing theory. In attempting to better understand that

influences female expatriates to take on international work experience, how their experiences

effects the nature of their career concept and the extent to any issues of discrimination thy

may face. Due to shortage of literature in this area an exploratory approach was considered

most appropriate.

Research Design

In adherence to the research philosophy and theoretical framework, the design of this

project will be qualitative rather than quantitative in nature. Studies of this sort may have

been enriched if conducted as longitudinal inquiry, however, neither time, circumstance nor

financial resources allowed for longitudinal approach.

Research Purpose

The purpose of research is to find out the different types of difficulties faced by

women expatriates in India. Compared with their male counterparts living in same country.

And also comparing it with other nations that similar problems exist there or not. Firstly to

find that such kind of problems do exist or mere a thought. After identifying problem trying

to identify solutions to the problems. Such as making aware people about the negative

consequences of it to the nation.

Research Approach

Research approach has been to select randomly few expatriates, male and female

both. To know about their experience in India, how far did they succeeded to accommodate

with the cultural and other different changes. Tried to identify their views regarding women

expatriate’s position in India. Then comparing the extent to which women have been

comfortable with cultural and different aspects of India.

18 | P a g e

Research Strategy

Framing questionnaire in such a format that more precise views could be fetched with

less number of questions. Different types of questions so as to identify their experience in

India. Thereafter to identify the crux of the research problem. Research questionnaire was in

combined form with objective and subjective questions to be filled, and to trace the missed

out points covered in subjective questions and to get the their views towards how they have

been treated in India. And how women’s experience has been different.

Data Collection

Data has been randomly collected by expatriates working with different organisations,

from different countries. Because of their different background country there has been

different in their approach in accommodating.

Sampling Strategy

The sampling strategy adopted in this study aimed to gain an insight into a particular

population within a specific location. The sample was gathered through a combination of

sampling techniques that represent a non-probability, purposeful sampling strategy and does

not claim to be representative of the total population of female manager expatriates.

Major Findings:

Amazed with the mixed response from different nationals working in India. Though,

able to fetch the by observing and considering what relatively majority of expatriates think

regarding the topic.

Women expatriates face bit of problems and treated as celebrities while on other hand

teased because of the same reason. But gradually with more and more women expatriates

heading towards assignment in India. It is becoming common for Indians to resist the change

and accept them as part of the society. As they are working hard to accommodate to Indian

19 | P a g e

culture, likewise Indians are too slowly and gradually adopting them and have reduced

responding surprisingly excited.

Question wise analysis,

1. 60% of people think women expatriates does not face more difficulties than their male

counterparts in India.

2. 60% of people think women are given less priority in management decisions.

3. 60% of people think women are not the best managers in the world.

4. Majority of people agree that men India does not want to be ruled by female bosses.

5. In India, society is more concerned if women expatriates live single.

6. In India, people respect women more.

7. In India, people are more helpful and supportive for female expatriates.

8. In India, people enjoy living and working in India.

9. Most of them accommodated with the cultural differences in India.

10. All of them enjoy cultural festivals in India.

11. Culturally women adjust better than male counterparts in India.

12. Males find it bit difficult to adjust in interaction with Indians whereas women are

much better in creating repo.

13. In personal adjustment too males find it bit difficult to adjust as compared to female

expatriates

14. Sample people believe that success of women expatriates depend on the personal

attitude to adjust and accommodate with cultural and other changes rather than

country they are working.

15. People believe India is favourable for women expatriates. As women are given

respect and appreciation for their work. They believe India as overall favourable

country as lot of expatriates enjoy their life here. But it more depends on the personal

attitude towards adaptation and adjusting with Indian culture.

20 | P a g e

Data Analysis

There has been amazingly mixed review about same India. Must be because of different

experience, attitude, and the country they belong to. Because of less resources the

information collected are not precise. But based on it, it has been observed that women

expatriates are performing better and having great experience. They are ahead of men in

adjusting with culture, interaction and personal criteria. They also have contrary bad

experience from Indians sometimes. Women are given lot of respect in India and n the other

hand it also tease foreign expatriates sometimes. It can lead to worst consequences in the long

term for the nation. Moreover it depends on the individual to face the problems and solve

them. India is comparatively a better place than many of Arab nations where situations are

worst for women. India is much better place to work for professional female expatriates, and

still would become better it become resistant to more of the foreign people coming to India.

21 | P a g e

Conclusion

Hereby, the research problem has proved that yes, there are many problems faced by

women, still they are performing better than their male counterparts. And if we can remove

those problems gradually by introducing more campaigns such as promoted by Amir Khan,

for Stop teasing women tourist visiting India and helping to grow our GDP. Because there are

only few people who decrease the prestige of the country. And in future women expatriate

would be hesitated to enter in the nation. Hence, the research study recommends to promote

more advertisement campaign, create the welcome approach for them and be helpful to them.

And make India a better place to work for anyone independently.

22 | P a g e

Difficulties Faced by Women Expatriates in India

Questionnaire

(Information collected will not be disclosed and used only for academics)

Please answer the following questions:

Personal Details:-

First Name:- ...................... Last Name......................Middle Name...................

HCN PCN TCN

Age:- Below 20 20-27 28-35 35-45 Above 45

Gender:- M F Marital Status:- Single Married

Nationality:-

British French Swedish US Dutch Italian

Other Please Specify........................

Specialisation:-....................................

Position:- CEO Manager Non-managerial

Designation:- .............................

Work Orientation:- Income Career

Organisation Details:-

Organisation Name:-...............................

Headquarters:-.........................................

Type:- Branch Joint Venture

Wholly owned subsidiary Representative Office

23 | P a g e

1. Do you believe women expatriates face more difficulties in international

assignment than male counterparts in India?

Yes No

2. Did you ever experienced that woman are given less priority in

managerial decisions?

Yes No

3. Do you believe women are the best managers in the world?

Yes No

For below Statements Rating scale is (1-Strongly agree, 2-Agree, 3-

neutral, 4-Disagree, 5- Strongly Disagree)

4. In India, men do not want to be ruled by female bosses.

1 2 3 4 5

5. In India, society is more concerned if women expatriate lives single.

1 2 3 4 5

6. In India, people respect women more.

1 2 3 4 5

7. In India, people are supportive and helpful for female expatriates.

1 2 3 4 5

8. You enjoy living & working in India?

1 2 3 4 5

24 | P a g e

9. You easily accommodated with the cultural differences in India.

1 2 3 4 5

10.You enjoy cultural festivals celebrated in India.

1 2 3 4 5

11.Cultural Adjustment

1 2 3 4 5

12.Interaction Adjustment

1 2 3 4 5

13.Personal Adjustment

1 2 3 4 5

14.Do you believe success of women expatriates depend on the country they

are assigned to? Why? Yes No

15.Do you believe India is favourable for Women expatriates? Why?

Data Collected By: Amit Dodwani, Student of MBA in International Business,

Ahmedabad Management Association.

25 | P a g e

(Black & Gregersen,1991)

(Capellen & Janssens, 2005)

(Sparrow, 2007).

(Schuler & Tarique, 2007; Caligiuri, & Stroh, 1995)

THANK YOU

26 | P a g e