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Women expats happier at work

The number of expat women satisfied with their working environment has tripled in the past year, reveals a recent Expatica survey.

In a survey of more than 450 women living abroad, 63 percent of respondents said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their working conditions compared to 20 percent of respondents in a similar Expatica survey a year ago.

Expat women in Belgium and France are the most happy with their professional lives. In contrast, women in Germany and the Netherlands are the least satisfied with their working life.

Most women said they enjoyed a positive relationship with their co-workers and were happy with commuting arrangements.

Women’s work woes
Meanwhile, promotion opportunities and low wages continue to trouble women expats at work. About 30 percent of the survey respondents felt there are limited job promotion opportunities, while 26 percent felt their wages are too low.

Others were shocked by the level of gender discrimination experienced in fully-developed countries in Europe.

Finding a job also remains a challenge for women expats, with 64 percent saying they would be able to find a job more easily if they were back in their home country.

Where women are happiest
Seventy-two percent of women polled said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their life abroad. According to the survey, female expats based in Spain are the most happy (81 percent), followed by Belgium (79 percent) and France (79 percent).

This is a far cry from last year’s results when women in Spain ranked among the lowest in satisfaction.

While most women are happy with recreation and food in their adopted countries, the same can’t be said for shopping and healthcare.

Socially, female expats said the language barrier and the differences in culture are what make it harder for them to make new friends. Others said they faced similar problem even after mastering the language.

Ongoing challenges faced by women
Women continue to face similar problems compared to a year ago, reveals the survey. The top three challenges are problems with language (53 percent), missing family and friends (49 percent) and the host country’s values (41 percent).

Some found it harder to make new friends because they failed to pick up the language quickly, while others wrote about how much they miss their family and friends. Meanwhile, some tried to overcome these challenges by accepting the culture of their adopted country.
 
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Bron: Expatica
Date of publication: the 5th of August 2009

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