largely due to the fact that women were seen as foreigners who happened to be
women, not as women who happened to be foreigners – a subtle, but highly
significant distinction. Female expatriate managers were therefore not subject
to the same limitations imposed on local females.
Examples of interviewees’ responses from Adler’s study are:
Japan: ‘It’s the novelty, especially in Japan, Korea, and Pakistan.
All of the general managers met with me. It was much easier for
me, especially in Osaka. They were charming. They didn’t want
me to feel bad. They thought I would come back if they gave me
business.You see, they could separate me from the local women.’Pakistan: ‘Will I have problems? No! There is a double standard
between expats and local women. The Pakistanis test you, but
you enter as a respected person.’More recent research by Napier and Taylor (2002) reiterates Adler’s (1987) find-
ings in looking at the experiences of women professionals working on assign-
ments in China, Japan and Turkey. They all reported issues with gaining
credibility in the initial stages of working abroad. In this respect, Japan was per-
ceived as more difficult than China. However, most of the women reported
that they had found ways to overcome the resistance. They also mirrored
Adler’s findings in that they found that they were very ‘visible’ and had more
responsibility than they would have had in an equivalent position in their
home countries. The need to have and use interpersonal skills was another
common feature of their experiences. Interestingly, the women reported most
frustration with the non-work parts of their life. As women in these countries,
they felt that certain activities were ‘restricted’ or limited for women. They also
felt that there was very little chance of developing a relationship with foreign
men, or for that matter with local women as friends. Loneliness was therefore
a factor. Many of the women joined associations or women’s networks shortly
after arriving in the host location as a way of alleviating this problem.
The question of host country cultural prejudices as a major barrier to
women’s employment in expatriate positions appears to have been debated
only from the point of view of women going to traditionally male-dominated
cultures. Little research has been carried out into women’s experiences when
transferring to countries with similar or more relaxed cultural values, for
instance British women expatriates working in North America or Europe, or
female expatriates from Pacific Rim countries working in Australia or North
America, where the literature would argue there should be fewer problems of
acceptance for female managers/professionals.
The question of how men are affected by cultural differences in the area of
international management is an important issue in this respect. There is
increasing research into cross-cultural adaptation and its links to expatriate
370 International Human Resource Management