BENGALURU: In the current scenario, the traditional model of work is becoming a distant memory for many organizations and employees are increasingly likely to work from outside the office and frequently use a number of mobile (and often personal) devices to complete business tasks. Men have  been the dominant participants in the paid labor force, but a significant number of women have joined them during the past 40 years. In the early 1970’s less than half of the working population consisted of women while in the current scenario, it is evident that nearly 6 out of 10 women are working for pay. Much of this growth can be attributed to working mothers, who increased their numbers in the workforce by 50 percent over the past generation.

In a recent report from PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), only 22 percent of employers are dynamically trying to increase female workforce mobility and from a survey conducted among 3937 professionals across 40 countries. Also 57 percent of global executives said that their female employees were under-represented in the mobility population. It is reported that Gender Stereotypes accounts to the deficit in the number of female workforce. An example to classify this would be the scenario where, women with children refrain from working overseas as they think it puts their partner’s higher income at risk. In a survey conducted globally, it has been reported that 41 percent of the female respondents wanting to undertake an international assignment are parents as opposed to 40 percent of male respondents.

At the professional front, three of the top five barriers relates to rehabilitation when taking into account the  challenges faced when women take up an international assignment. Top of the list is a concern about the level of international assignment support that would be provided by their employer, both financial and instrumental. From another survey it can also be concluded that to attract women towards international mobility programmes, there needs to be a flexibility and choice offered in assignment packages. Greater advancements in the careers of female talents are achieved when they gain leadership qualities through the experience gained from international assignments. Employers need to communicate clearly around global mobility, and have transparent, formal processes and arrangements available to promote and facilitate such opportunities. For working mothers seeking international assignments, flexible global mobility programmes in the area of repatriation is promoted.

“CEO’s must drive an agenda where women are both aware of, and provided with, the critical experiences required to progress their career, including international assignment opportunities,” comments Dennis Nally, Chairman, PwC International.

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