Return to Home Page 1997 WOMEN EXPATRIATE MANAGERS IN JAPAN: THE MYTHS AND THE REALITIES Executive Summary Japan is enormously important in the world economy and to the bottom lines of many U.S. firms, making the performance of expatriate managers there critical (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Yet many companies hobble their chances of selecting the best candidate for an overseas assignment by unnecessarily restricting the candidate pool and eliminating female candidates strictly for gender reasons. When considering expatriate managers, most companies do not seriously consider posting their women managers (Mead, 1994). Still, can a woman be an effective manager in one of the most macho cultures in the world: Japan? Because of the historical scarcity of local women managers in Japan, combined with the cultural predisposition of the Japanese, it has long been believed that prejudices against women expatriates in Japan would render them ineffective. This is one myth concerning women expatriates in Japan; unfortunately, there are more. Fortunately, however, these assumptions are inadequate and outdated. In fact, there are more barriers facing Japanese women than foreign women expatriates. Nevertheless, even today many American companies appear prejudiced against selecting women for international assignments, even though they many lack evidence to support their positions (Mead, 1994). While it is true that women expatriates face many challenges, for the most part, in Japan, a woman expatriate’s success or failure is not correlated to the fact that she is a woman. Foreign women experience some challenges different from those of male managers; however, the majority of the women have been able to overcome them and have used their many advantages to work successfully abroad (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Indeed, most women expatriates feel that they have gained professional acceptance in the Japanese business world--they had to work hard at it, but it was feasible. Introduction Rapid internationalization has been one of the most remarkable features of the business environment during the last decade (Harris, 1993). It is no secret that business faces an environment radically different from that of even a few years ago, the result of increasingly global competition. Global competition is serious, pervasive, and it is here to stay (Jelinek and Adler, 1988). Increasing trade and global independence among countries is likely to continue; and the world’s two largest economies—the United States and Japan—will doubtless become even more intertwined (Napier and Taylor, 1995). “A foreign woman working in Japan? How intriguing--too bad it would never work” (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Aside from its position as a major trading partner, Japan has long had the image of being a particularly difficult working environment for “Westerners”. Its people, culture, and business systems have seemed impenetrable to many non-Japanese in general, but even more so for women (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Consequently, there is a common belief that women expatriates could never be successful working in Japan. However, the growing number of women professionals working in Japan are continually proving that foreign women can successfully work and adjust to living in Japan. As Fortune (September 21, 1992) succinctly states, “The best reason for believing that more women will be in charge before long is that in a ferociously competitive global economy, no company can afford to waste valuable brainpower simply because it’s wearing a skirt.” Leading management scholars have identified innovation as a key factor in global competitiveness. An inherent source of innovation is well-managed diversity, including gender diversity. Women bring diversity to global corporations that have historically been primarily male (Adler, 1995). By hiring women, global firms act as role models for firms in many countries that have not seriously considered promoting significant numbers of women into managerial positions. Not surprisingly, such global firms see women managers as bringing needed collaborative and participative skills to the workplace. The outstanding success of these female managers in all geographies is encouraging firms both to continue sending women abroad and to begin to promote more local women into management. The new types of global corporations thus include more women than their predecessors could (or would) and benefit organizationally from their professional contributions in new ways. They benefit both from women’s increased representation at all levels of the organization as well as from their unique ways of contributing to the organization (Adler, 1995). American women now make up about half the U.S. workforce, and occupy over a quarter of all managerial and administrative positions, yet the gains made by women into management at individual country level do not appear to have been matched in international management. Estimates of the number of female expatriates range between 2% and 5%. The reasons for this minimal representation are complex, involving individual, organizational, economic, and socio-cultural influences (Harris, 1993). Yet their achievements call into question some widely held beliefs about women and about management (Jelinek and Adler, 1988). But can women make it, especially in foreign cultures where men presumably do not consider them equals? Won’t they be ignored, mistreated, or intimidated? Shouldn’t we respect foreign countries’ cultural norms--even if they appear discriminatory to us? This paper examines these issues and addresses the most commonly held myths about women in international management; and consequently, reveals the realities of women expatriates in Japan. The Three Myths Cross-border business is fundamental to today’s global firms. Given the historical scarcity of local women managers in most countries, firms have questioned if women can function successfully in cross-border managerial assignments. They have believed that the relative absence of local women managers formed a basis for accurately predicting the potential for success, or lack thereof, of expatriate women (Adler, 1995). Given transnationals’ needs for the best-qualified manager--whether male or female--a study was conducted on the role of women as expatriate managers and sought to explain why so few women hold international management positions. Each part addressed one of the three most commonly held “myths” about women in international management. These beliefs were labeled myths because, although widely held by both men and women, their accuracy had never been tested (Adler, 1995). Myth 1: Women Do Not Want to Be International Managers Is the problem that women are less interested than men in pursuing international careers? The results of the study revealed that female and male M.B.A.s display equal interest in pursuing international careers. Both female and male M.B.A.s agree, however, that firms offer fewer opportunities to women than to men and significantly fewer opportunities to women pursuing international careers than to those pursuing domestic career (Adler, 1995). Although there may have been a difference in the past, women and men today are equally interested in international management. The first myth--that women do not want to be international mangers--is, in fact, a myth. Myth 2: Companies Refuse to Send Women Abroad Is the problem that companies refuse to select women for international assignments? Over half of the companies surveyed reported that they hesitate to send women abroad. Almost four times as many reported being reluctant to select women for international assignments as for domestic management positions. Almost three-quarters of the companies surveyed reported that they hesitate in selecting women because they believe that foreigners are so prejudiced against women that the female managers could not be successful if sent on a foreign assignment. In addition, many expressed concern about the women’s physical safety, the hazards involved in traveling in underdeveloped countries, and the isolation and loneliness (Adler, 1995). A key reason why many U.S. firms rarely send women abroad stems from a perception that most foreign countries are inhospitable to women in the workplace. The expectation is that a negative business climate will severely hamper a woman expatriate’s ability to perform her job and, ultimately, to enhance the firm’s business (Napier and Taylor, 1995). In a study done by Thal and Cateora (1979), international opportunities for women were generally seen as limited, due to the fact that women would find the international game difficult to master (Fayerweather, 1982). Indeed, although fewer than 15% if U.S. human resources directors publicly acknowledge that they intentionally favor men over women in international selection decisions, the fact remains that 95% of the expatriates in American firms are male (Black, Gregersen, and Mendenhall, 1992). These findings concur with those of 100 top line managers in Fortune 500 firms, the majority of whom believe that women face overwhelming resistance when seeking international managerial positions. Additionally, 80 percent of U.S. firms report believing that women would face disadvantages if sent abroad. Therefore, the second myth is true: firms are hesitant, if not outright resistant, to sending female managers abroad (Adler, 1995). Myth 3: Foreigners’ Prejudice Against Female Expatriate Managers Makes Them Ineffective Is it true that foreigners are so prejudiced against women that women could not succeed as international managers? Is the treatment of local women the best predictor of expatriate women’s potential to succeed? Over 100 women managers from major North American firms who were on expatriate assignments around the world were surveyed and almost all of them (97 percent) reported that their international assignments were successful. This success rate is considerably higher than that reported for North American male expatriates. In fact, almost half of the expatriates reported that being female served as more of an advantage than a disadvantage (Adler, 1995). For the majority of the women, the most difficult obstacle in the international career involved getting sent abroad in the first place, not gaining the respect of foreigners and succeeding, once sent. Overcoming resistance from the North American home company frequently proved more challenging than gaining local clients’ and colleagues’ respect and acceptance. In most cases, assumptions about foreigners’ prejudices against female expatriate managers appear to have been exaggerated: the anticipated prejudice and the reality did not match (Adler, 1995). It may well be, therefore, that worries about women being accepted as expatriate managers stem more from male managers in the home country organization blaming other cultures for their own prejudices (Harris, 1993). Indeed, it appears that foreigners are not as prejudiced as many North American managers have assumed; and therefore, the third myth is exactly that--a myth (Adler, 1995). Cultural and Religious Attitudes Toward Women Expatriate Managers Culture impacts our lives in general, as well as management and work practice in particular. Some cultures inhibit people and constrain their intellectual activities. These cultures exclude whole segments of their populations because they are different, whether their prejudices are against ethnic or religious minorities, youth, or women. In such cultures, females for example, are not permitted to be free and independent human beings and their personal rights are minimal--their lives are dedicated to the service of males and their families (Harris and Moran, 1996). The status of women and the relationships between the sexes vary appreciably from one society to another. Although a number of countries could be cited as having a greater degree of equality between the sexes than the United States, when viewed from a broad cross-cultural perspective, the United States affords women a relatively high degree of status in terms of legal, economic, political, and social prerogatives at their disposal. In contrast, women from other cultures, come from traditions that afford them few of the freedoms Western women take for granted (Ferraro, 1994). All cultures differentiate male and female roles, expecting males to behave in certain ways, females in others; anticipating that men will fill certain roles, and women others. In many cultures, including the United States’, the traditional female role supports many attitudes and behaviors contradictory to those defined as managerial. This has been one of the key barriers to women’s entry into managerial careers both domestically and internationally (Jelinek and Adler, 1988). Women’s participation in international management assignments is influenced by a complex set of cultural factors which affect women within their host country environments (Harris, 1993). In many countries, where there is a traditional culture lag with respect to the role of modern women in business, females are not welcome or comfortable in the workplace. In such places, women international mangers sometimes face bias and prejudice. The cultures of Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Japan, for instance, have been cited as inhibiting the effectiveness of such managers (Harris and Harris, 1988). In most cultures men have raised barriers to females seeking to achieve their human potential. Although both genders often cooperate professionally, cultural conditioning frequently prompted male leaders to limit career choices and development for their female counterparts. However, during the past few decades, education and mass communication, as well as the feminist movement and government regulations, are combining to raise consciousness and alter the situation (Harris and Moran, 1990). Religion is a major element and mainspring of culture. On a macro level, religion affects the language, social structure, and economic system. On a micro level, religion is frequently responsible for the behavior of the individuals and groups in a society--particularly the behavior toward women (Asheghian and Ebrahimi, 1990). The Japanese, heavily influenced by Confucianism, consider rank and subordination to be part of the natural order of things. In Confucian societies, hierarchy simply exists: some person will always be lower or higher than another on the authority ladder; and in most cases, women are seen as having a lower ranking position (Napier and Taylor, 1995). The social and economic role of women in a culture is very much affected by religion. For example, women may be restricted from working beside men in certain job positions (Asheghian and Ebrahimi, 1990). Additionally, the role of women in business is tied to religion and women are not able to function as they would in the West. This affects management in a very important way: The firm may not be able to use women managers or personnel in certain countries (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 1995). Understanding religion provides the best insight into the internal or mental behavior that is manifest in the external aspects of the culture ( Asheghian and Ebrahimi, 1990). Japanese Working Women Japanese women form an important part of the work force in Japan. In the early 1900s, when Japan’s economy developed rapidly through growth in its textile industry, it was women who were the primary mill workers in the industry (Napier and Taylor, 1995). During the 1990s, women have continued to participate actively in the working environment. Indeed, some 58 percent of all married women in Japan work. Of the total work force in 1994, women represented approximately 40 percent (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Although Japanese women hold a range of jobs, by far the largest percentage occupy lower level positions, or work only part-time. In addition to meaning low pay, such positions tend to offer few opportunities for advancement (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Most Japanese women who have joined the work force have gone the route of the “office lady”. Office ladies are strictly clerical workers with no promotability. They are hired with the unwritten understanding that they will retire in approximately three years upon their marriages (Fernandez, 1993). The sexual imbalance in the work force is striking. Over one-third of Japanese women work as clerical workers, and another fourth work as production process workers or laborers, while only one percent of them work as managers and administrators (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Through Western eyes one striking aspect of Japanese society is its superficial homogeneity and harmony. And many Japanese are happy to promote the notion of a homogeneous and harmonious work-force in order to explain rising productivity levels and the high quality of Japanese products in the international marketplace (Saso, 1990). Indeed, some commentators on Japan’s labor market are inclined to stress the lack of class-consciousness, the egalitarianism in the workplace, and the cooperative commitment to company goals. However, reality reveals considerably less homogeneity and egalitarianism, especially in respect to working women. In fact, the labor market is quite distinctly stratified for women, and many observers would argue that women are the most disadvantaged workers in Japan (Saso, 1990). It is generally agreed that the double burden which women bear; their primary responsibility in almost all cultures for running the home and caring for the children severely restricts the kinds of income-earning jobs for which they have spare time and effort. In Japan, where workers are expected to be completely devoted to their primary responsibility, whether they be paid employees or mothers, the potential restrictions on women in the workforce are much higher than in the West (Saso, 1990). Japanese women are expected to devote themselves to marriage and family above all else. Since Japanese businessmen must spend amazingly long hours entertaining clients and making contacts, the task of raising a family traditionally falls almost entirely on the female (Fernandez, 1993). Certain women’s occupations in Japan are almost completely feminized and constricted. Indeed, the Japanese language is clearly differentiated into distinct male and female words and expressions; therefore, a man’s way of speaking could sound highly inappropriate in many feminized occupations. In the case of women who do move into occupations which have mostly been held by men, they actually modify their language so that it sounds more appropriately professional (Saso, 1990). Even though Japanese women have been relatively active and integral members of the labor force, their position in the labor force has not been strong. In many cases, employees have to choose soon after entering a company between one of two tracks under the employers’ concept of ‘channeling management’. Although the two-track system is not discriminatory in the eyes of the law, most women are having to make an irreversible choice early in their careers to join the slow track because of their anxiety that future promotions and potential transfers may upset the stability of their future family. Therefore, women workers are usually part of the labor force in which their low-paying jobs are considered to be inferior to those of male workers (Saso, 1990). In Japan, strong prejudices have traditionally barred women from employment in managerial positions. A 1988 survey of 1,000 large Japanese companies showed that only 150 of them have any women at all at “kacho” (section-chief) level. Fewer than 20 of the 1,000 companies have women in positions above that level (Mead, 1994). Indeed, it is estimated that women occupy only 1% of the managerial decision-making positions in large Japanese firms (Napier and Taylor, 1995). As one female Japanese executive said, “The company doesn’t expect knowledge, skills, or abilities from women” (Rosener, 1995). Yet women led Japan at various times in its early history; the last woman was Empress Kohen (A.D. 749-758). Women’s rights did not become severely constrained in Japan until the fifteenth century, when the development of the feudal system reinforced the prevailing Confucian morality requiring wives to be subservient to their husbands. In fact, the written characters for husband literally mean ‘master’. Some observers like to point out that Japanese personnel policies are based on feudalism, especially the paternalistic attitude of management and the attention paid to status. And status is undeniably linked to gender (Saso, 1990). Gender itself clearly plays a role in women’s subordinate roles in the Japanese working environment. At least in business, women are seen as the inferior sex in Japan. The assumption is that Japanese women rarely have interest in the business or professional world, and thus lack business abilities and skills (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Most Japanese women said the workplace remains “otoko no shakai”, a man’s world (Rosener, 1995). Consequently, women will be subordinate to men, who are automatically assumed to have business interest and skills. As one successful Japanese woman put it, “In Japan, the most stupid male is said to be equal to the brightest female” (Napier and Taylor, 1995). The working environment that Japanese women face is without question less than welcoming. Japanese women face formidable challenges working in Japan’s closed and clubby business circles where much business is generated by personal relationships and transacted after-hours over drinks (Harris and Moran, 1990). “I think that the biggest drawback for businesswomen in Japan is that it’s difficult for them to participate on an equal footing in the after-hours activities,” says a Japanese consular official (Anonymous, April 1996). Japanese men encounter few professional Japanese women in their workplaces, and generally perceive working women as subordinate, frivolous, and expendable (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Yet despite all of the obstacles that Japanese working women face, Japanese women are committed to economic activity, if for no other reason than to raise their families’ living standards. In past years there has been a very clear trend toward longer years of service and an increasing proportion of married women who work (Saso, 1990). Moreover, there are indications of a growing awareness in Japan that women constitute an economic resource. Because of a labor shortage of professionals, the beginning of a women’s movement, and the opening of doors to traditionally male professions, Japan in the next few decades could experience an influx of women into its workforce much like what happened in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States (Rosener, 1995). Thus the importance of work to women and of women’s work to the Japanese economy is bound to intensify (Saso, 1990). Advantages of Being a Woman Expatriate Manager in Japan Women expatriates are expected to experience a series of difficulties caused by their being female; however, many women expatriates report that there are numerous professional advantages to being female. Most frequently, they described the advantage of being highly visible. Usually, foreign clients are curious about them, want to meet them, and remember them after the first meeting. Therefore, women find it easier than it is for their male colleagues to gain access to foreign clients’ time and attention (Adler, 1995). Women indicate that memorability is greater for foreign women than for foreign men. As one expatriate woman in Japan said, “It’s the visibility as an expatriate, and even more as a woman. I stick in their minds. I know I’ve gotten more business than my two male colleagues because my clients are extra interested in me” (Adler, 1995). In addition, female managers often discover a number of advantages based on their interpersonal skills, including that local men could talk more easily about a wider range of topics with them than with their male counterparts (Adler, 1995). An article in Training and Development (April 1996) tells the story of one woman expatriate working in Japan who found that Japanese male employees opened up and shared their problems with her more readily than they did with her male American counterparts. Women indicate that their skills for building interpersonal relationships may be better than those of foreign men. They tend to remember and ask about personal matters and show appreciation for small favors and courtesies. Particularly in Asian cultures, this attention to the personal side of a business relationship can be critical, and a foreign professional woman may have skills in this area that give her an edge over foreign men (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Additionally, many women say that their ability to adapt to life as outsiders is an advantage. The Japanese tend to discriminate very clearly between Japanese and non-Japanese and there is a constant sense of exclusion that any foreigner must endure in Japan, particularly in business. For women who have long experienced exclusion from traditional corporate networks, adapting to the Japanese environment may be slightly easier than for an American male expatriate (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Finally, most women describe benefiting from a “halo effect.” The majority of the women’s foreign clients had not previously worked with a female expatriate manager. Similarly, the local community was highly aware of how unusual it was for North American multinationals to send female managers abroad (Adler, 1995). Therefore, the local managers assumed that the women would not have been sent unless they were “the best.” According to one Western woman manager in Japan, “They assumed I must be good if I was sent. So, they became my friends” (Adler, 1995). Disadvantages of Being a Woman Expatriate Manager in Japan Women expatriates rarely go abroad without anticipating challenges in doing their jobs. The principal expectations are that, because they are female, they will experience discrimination or problems from their Japanese work colleagues or from Japanese clients or others outside the firm (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Indeed, some foreign clients do exhibit suspiciousness concerning the woman’s professional competence and authority. Because Japanese men expect Japanese women to hold low-level positions, they have to readjust their thinking to accommodate a foreign woman in a responsible position (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Women are considerably younger than the typical male expatriate, with the average age just under 30 (Adler, 1995). Because of their age, women often encounter barriers related to problems with age. For example, one woman, during her selection interview, was told by the Japanese man interviewing her that she could “expect problems, being a young single woman working in Japan” (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Particularly when women expatriates are in professions that put them in advising positions or in situations where they interact with older Japanese clients, many women feel that their age works against them, at least initially (Napier and Taylor, 1995). One of the more surprising disadvantages women expatriates have reported is the difference between what they had expected in their jobs and the reality. In many cases, they learned that “serving tea” was part of the job; in other cases, they had expected to oversee the introduction of some new program but discovered that they were expected to do more clerical tasks. Some are expected to serve tea, clean up, run the copy machines, and be charming to visitors. Many women find themselves to be an “ornament”, an American with a big title and no responsibility (Napier and Taylor, 1995). However, the majority of the disadvantages involve the women’s relationship with their home companies, not with their foreign colleagues and clients. A major problem involves the woman’s difficulty in obtaining an international position in the first place (Adler, 1995). Another problem involves home companies’ initially limiting the duration of the women’s assignments to six months or a year, rather than offering the more standard two to three years. This seemingly logical cautious strategy creates an unfortunate self-fulfilling prophecy (Adler, 1995). When the company is not convinced that a woman can succeed, it communicates the company’s lack of confidence to foreign colleagues and clients as a lack of commitment; consequently, the foreigners fail to take the woman manager seriously. As one expatriate woman said, “It is very important to clients that I am permanent. It increases trust, and that’s critical” (Adler, 1995). A related problem involves the home company’s limiting the woman’s professional opportunities once she is abroad. Female expatriates experience extreme difficulties in persuading their home companies to give them responsibility and authority equivalent to that given to their male counterparts. Additionally, companies often assume that their own employees are less prejudiced than the foreigners. In reality, women face more problems from home-country nationals within their own organizations than from foreign clients and colleagues (Adler, 1995). The Realities of Women Expatriate Managers in Japan Japan is frequently viewed as a particularly difficult environment for women expatriates, in part because of a prevailing image of female subservience in Japanese society. A perception exists that Japan is “culturally tough” for Westerners and has great differences in social values from North American countries (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Japan is, after all, still one of the most macho cultures in the world (Rossman, 1990). Japanese men do tend to have great difficulty reporting to women simply because they don’t know how to behave when working with a woman (especially one of a different ethnicity) for the first time in their lives (Anonymous, April 1996). Consequently, senior managers often conclude that sending foreign women to Japan for business is sheer madness (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Japan is enormously important in the world economy and to the bottom lines of many U.S. firms, making the performance of foreign personnel there critical (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Both companies and women managers are probably most concerned with whether foreign professional women working in Japan can perform their jobs well. Despite the complaints by many U.S. companies about Japan, women can do business in Japan if they have the patience and know-how (Rossman, 1990). According to the study by Taylor and Napier (1996), the women’s average rating on job performance was 3.5 on a scale of 5, where 3 indicated “fully satisfactory” and 5 indicated “clearly outstanding.” In reality, Japanese leaders are more accepting of foreign business women than they are of their own talented females. Many Western women hold positions of importance within Japan today and are adapting well to the unusual business conditions there. Moreover, they are more likely to experience discrimination from other Japanese women than from the men who are more respectful and accepting of their presence (Harris and Harris, 1988). Indeed, a number of expatriate women revealed that the greatest disrespect they had suffered came not from male co-workers or clients, but from their female Japanese subordinates--most likely due to resentment that a foreign woman is given opportunities that a Japanese woman is not (Napier and Taylor, 1995). Western women have much more opportunity in Japan than Japanese women. As one female expatriate in Japan described: “The Japanese do not expect me to act as a Japanese woman. They will allow and condone behavior in foreign women that would be absolutely unacceptable in their own women” (Adler, 1995). According to a supervisor with Kanda Institute of Language, “The Japanese people give a lot of freedom to foreigners.” And that works to the advantage of working women from the West (Harris and Moran, 1990). Similarly, a Tokyo-based personnel vice president for a major international bank explained: “Being a foreigner is so weird to the Japanese that the marginal impact of being a woman is nothing. If I were Japanese woman, I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing here” (Adler, 1995). In spite of the inhospitality toward Japanese women in the workplace, however, foreign professional women perceive they are accepted as professionals by the Japanese they encounter in their work. Further, acceptance of women in Japanese business is growing. As economies develop, there’s a greater need for the best and brightest, no matter what the gender (Anonymous, April 1996). Age, title, linguistic ability, and the groups with whom they interact appear to influence the overall acceptance the women experience. In the study by Napier and Taylor (1995), the foreign women professionals feel that ultimately they have been able to establish professional credibility in Japan. Interestingly, on a continuum of communication styles, American men are at one end, Japanese women are at the other end, and Japanese men and American women fall close together in between. Like American women, Japanese men tend to be supportive, respectful, tactful, and indirect in their communication styles. And they express themselves with feelings as well as facts (Anonymous, 1996). Yet most of the women international managers in Japan agree that their sex neither hinders nor helps their careers. In fact, most believe that her effectiveness has a greater impact on how she is viewed than the fact she is a woman (Harris and Moran, 1990). In reality, a foreigner is more likely to be accepted when they have competence and the appropriate credentials, regardless of their gender. One thing seems to be clear: foreigners are seen as foreigners. A woman who is a foreigner (a gaijin) is not expected to act like the local women. Therefore, the societal and cultural rules governing the behavior of local women that limit their access to managerial positions and responsibility do not apply to foreign women. Moreover, foreign women are not expected to assume the cultural roles that societies have traditionally reserved for their own women (Adler, 1995). Conclusion While we might expect the most important characteristic of a female expatriate manager to be that she is a woman and predict her success based on the success of the local women in Japan, that is not the case (Adler, 1995). Female expatriate managers are not subject to the same limitations as those imposed on local females (Harris, 1993). As one American woman manager said, “They know that I’m an American woman, and they don’t expect me to be like a Japanese woman.” In fact, the most important characteristic is that expatriates are foreign, and the best predictor of their success is the success of other foreigners in the particular country (Adler, 1995). Most Japanese managers and executives see female expatriates as foreigners who happen to be women, not as women who happen to be foreigners: the difference is crucial. Given the uncertainty in sending women managers to Japan and other areas of the world, previous assumptions about the greater importance of gender over nationality have caused us to make false predictions concerning women’s potential to succeed as executives and managers in foreign countries. Furthermore, given that the problem is caused primarily by the home companies’ assumptions and decisions, the solutions are largely within their control (Adler, 1995). Increased participation for women in global management is a possibility if both organizations and women adopt a flexible approach to international assignments. This would entail organizations avoiding assumptions about the ability and willingness of women to undertake expatriate assignments and structuring the assignment in such a way as to ensure that the chances of success are high (Harris, 1993). Firms can proactively address the special needs of women expatriates and thereby increase the pool of candidates available to send abroad, as well as enhance their adjustment and work performance (Taylor and Napier, 1996). Women need to adopt a proactive stance and educate their companies regarding the abilities of female expatriates, while ensuring that they have the right skills to be eligible (Harris, 1993). Just at the time when the intensity of global competition demands that companies use nothing but their best managers, both the companies and the women are discovering that success is both possible and probable (Adler, 1991). Successful companies will select both women and men to manage their cross-border operations. The option of limiting international management to one gender has become a “luxury” that no company can afford (Adler, 1995). Indeed, contrary to the reactions so common even a decade ago about sending women to overseas posts, the evidence mounts daily that many professional women perform beautifully in countries outside their own--even in the challenging setting of Japan (Napier and Taylor, 1995). References Adler, Nancy J. Expatriate Women Managers. Expatriate Management. New Ideas for International Business. Quorum Books. 1995. pp. 256-271. Adler, Nancy J. International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. Second Edition. 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