Years of research and study have shown that women handle emotions and relationships differently than men. Increasingly, the empathy and insight many women managers bring to their work is receiving boardroom attention, and companies are realizing that in an ever-globalising world these skills may just be indispensable. Multinationals are scrambling to incorporate elements of interpersonal and intercultural expertise into their workforce, but may be overlooking a key resource.
Gender stereotypes are partially to blame for the shortage of female executives overseas.
Other women working internationally find they are treated as a foreign expert first, and a woman second. More often youth and relative lack of experience are viewed by these women executives as greater drawbacks than gender. In Singapore, women managers are perceived as being empathetic and loyal, and are much in demand for these qualities. And since conflict resolution comes easier to women than to men, negotiations with women on either or both sides of the boardroom table are frequently conducted in a spirit of congeniality and fair play. Perhaps the greatest obstacle facing women in management is the glass ceiling, and this phenomenon knows no national or international boundaries.