Why are women left at home: Are they unwilling to go on international assignments?

Increasing numbers of women may be climbing the corporate ladder, but when it comes to sending managers on overseas assignments, women are staying hom e. Is it that women are not interested in international careers, that for s ome reason companies are reluctant to send women abroad, or that women in f oreign countries experience prejudice that prevents them from being effecti ve on their jobs? Our results, based on an extensive survey of female expat riates and their supervisors, indicate that the key may lie in the signific antly different views the women and their supervisors hold on the women's i nterest in pursuing international assignments and in their expectations con cerning the prejudice they are likely to encounter. In short, these parties typically do not openly discuss the issues surrounding this important mana gement decision. In addition to presenting the results of our survey, this article discusses strategies to encourage companies to consider women for i nternational assignments and that women can use to increase their chances o f being consider-ed. It also presents suggestions for future research.