Senior female international managers: breaking the glass border

Abstract

The experience of women in international management – especially within a European context – has received little attention in the international human resource management literature. In particular, there is a dearth of empirical research which details the role and career moves of the senior female international manager. The particular focus of this paper is on the senior female international managerial career move in Europe. A total of 50 senior female expatriate managers were interviewed, representing a wide range of industry and service sectors. The article highlights a number of covert and overt barriers which the interviewees believed limit women’s international career opportunities. The findings indicate that it is timely for organisations to face and address the difficulties female managers encounter in their progression to senior managerial positions in order to ensure that future opportunities for progression to senior management is equal to that of their male counterparts.

Citation

Linehan, M. and Walsh, J.S. (1999), "Senior female international managers: breaking the glass border", Women in Management Review, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 264-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649429910291113