|
British, Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton is the director of the Permits Foundation, a non - profit corporate initiative to persuade governments to relax work permit regulations for expatriate partners.
Katy, as she is usually known, has more than 25 years experience in international HR management, initially with the Shell Group in the UK, Latin America and the Netherlands, and as an independent consultant. Her interest in dual career support grew from 1995 when she set up the Shell Group’s programme of career and employment advice for the partners of international staff world-wide. She managed that service until early 2004. In 2000, she initiated the setting up of the Permits Foundation. Previous positions included managing expatriate services, expatriate policy development, staff planning and development for graduate engineers, employee relations, remuneration policy, international recruitment and strategic manpower planning. Kathleen lives with her husband and two sons in the Hague.
ExpatWomen's Interview with Kathleen
ExpatWomen: Kathleen, congratulations on the Permits Foundation. What gave you the idea to start the Permits Foundation and what were you hoping to achieve?
Kathleen: The Permits Foundation advocates the removal of work permit hurdles for the spouses and partners of internationally assigned staff. The idea developed while I was managing the Shell Group's global spouse employment centre. We were able to offer a range of practical advice on managing a mobile career, but getting a work permit was a hurdle in many countries. I learned that a number of foreign services had developed bilateral arrangements by which the spouses of diplomats could work. That triggered the idea to work together with other employers to promote change for spouses and partners in both the private and public sectors. ! |
|
ExpatWomen: Please share with us the Permits Foundation's most important achievements since it started in 2001? |
|
Kathleen: Our first milestone was the introduction of work authorisation for the spouses of intra-company transferees and treaty traders in the USA in January 2002. We had supported a US coalition of employers and proposed that the legislation was widened to cover all nationalities. Since then we successfully promoted change in The Netherlands, France and Hong Kong, which passed regulations allowing spouses of highly skilled staff to work freely. In the case of the Netherlands and France, this also applies to family members.
At the same time, we have been successful in raising awareness generally so that more countries and employers are now aware of the need and the benefits of change. |
|
ExpatWomen: Why has the issue of work permits for spouses and partners become so important? |
|
Kathleen: Many international surveys show that concerns about partner employment are one of the main reasons why staff turn down an international assignment. It is an issue that affects men and women of all nationalities working in both the private and public sectors worldwide.
With the growing number of dual careers, stemming from increased participation of women in employment all over the world, I feel it’s an issue whose time has come. |
|
ExpatWomen: Kathleen, tell us your experiences as an expatriate woman and how this has influenced your work at the Permits Foundation. |
|
Kathleen: I've lived outside my base country UK for more than 25 years, initially in Latin America and later in the Netherlands where I met my husband, who is Dutch. I have seen that good support policies make a huge difference to the speed with which a family settles happily in a new country and an employee becomes productive in the job.
At the Permits Foundation we are dedicated to getting governments to remove unnecessary bureaucracy for partners who want to work. |
|
ExpatWomen: Who helps you run the Permits Foundation? And why do you think you have been so successful in gaining so many corporate sponsors? |
|
Kathleen: Forty international companies and organisation support the foundation with an annual donation. They represent a broad base of sectors, countries of origin and global operations. A board of 10 sponsors meets quarterly to review strategy and plans and is also more actively involved in supporting efforts in particular countries. The chairman of the board is Gill Gordon, an HR director at Schlumberger Limited. I am responsible for our strategy and government relations and my colleague Françoise van Roosmalen coordinates sponsor support.
We are successful in gaining corporate sponsors because we have demonstrated that we can help bring about a more flexible work permit climate that supports dual careers and international mobility. That makes it easier for employers to attract and retain mobile talented staff and reduce the costs of assignment refusal and failure. Being a sponsor also allows employers to show that they care about an issue that is important to expatriate families and that enhances their reputation as a good employer. |
|
ExpatWomen: How easy / hard it is to change countries' work regulation laws? |
|
Kathleen: So far we have found that the countries that we have approached have been open to discussion and prepared to consider change. It takes time to consult with the relevant ministries and for legislative change to be accepted and passed but each successful change provides an example of best practice to others.
Countries that already allow spouses to work freely, such at the UK, Australia, Canada and The Netherlands acknowledge that this is an integral part of their policy of managing migration and that it helps to attract highly skilled people who contribute positively to the economy. We use these and other examples of good practice when approaching countries that have not yet considered change. |
|
ExpatWomen: What are the Permits Foundation's next goals? |
|
Kathleen: Our next goals are to develop local networks to promote change in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and China. These are important destinations for companies and international organisations and it is essential to understand the local context. If any of your readers feel they can make a contribution, we would be delighted to hear from them.
Our e-mail is and the web site is www.permitsfoundation.com . The web site has a useful country information and links section http://www.permitsfoundation.com/links.htm which lists official sources on work permit regulations and gives an overview of all the countries with favourable arrangements for spouses, partners and other dependants. |
|
ExpatWomen: Thank you very much Kathleen. We wish you and your team continued success! |
| |
Kathleen: Thank you, Jill and Andrea. I also want to compliment you on your web site. It has developed into an excellent networking and information resource in a very short time and I wish every success with it. |
| |
|
| |
| |
October 2007 |
| |
| |
|
| |
