Expat Women: Partners

Male Expatriate Accompanying Partners

Dr. Nina Cole, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

Report to Participants
September 2008

The number of female expatriates with male accompanying spouses has slowly been increasing, and this trend is expected to continue. However there is very limited knowledge about the experiences and needs of this new breed of accompanying spouse for global human resources managers to use in designing spousal assistance programs. Three potential issues have been identified: (1) the non-traditional nature of families with male accompanying spouses; (2) the almost certain dual career situation of female expatriates with male spouses; and (3) the expected urgent practical need for employment assistance for male spouses. This study of 45 male spouses, the largest sample group to date, reports their views on these issues.

During 2007-2008, I traveled through the Asia-Pacific region to conduct a research study on spousal adjustment. The study was funded by the SHRM Foundation (affiliated with the U.S. Society for Human Resource Management). A total of 238 spouses (193 female and 45 male) completed a questionnaire regarding employment assistance. Of those, 100 participants (67 female and 33 male) volunteered to meet with me for a more detailed discussion on spousal assistance. The subgroup of male spouses was analyzed for this report.

Executive Summary

The results of the study showed that a significantly higher proportion of the male spouses (63 percent) identified themselves as being career-oriented than did the females (29 percent). The male spouses had significantly lower cultural adjustment (related to food, housing, medical care etc.) than the female spouses. More male spouses (24%) than female spouses (16%) received employer-provided career assistance. Males rated the value of this assistance more highly than females, but still considered it mediocre (average rating of 3.64 out of 5).

Interviews with 33 male spouses indicated that they were very supportive of their wife's career. They had come to terms with their pioneering role as accompanying male spouses, although they found that most other people had not. They had a lot of input into the decision to expatriate, which was made jointly with their wives. The male spouses had also come to terms with the career difficulties they were facing as an accompanying spouse. Although they were not expecting much in the way of employment support from their wife's employer, they would welcome it. They also expressed unique needs for separate support groups and activities for male spouses. They found that female spouse groups were generally unwelcoming and unsuitable for them. Those who were part of informal male spouse groups found the social and networking activity they experienced there to be very helpful in coping with their unique role.

1. QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Male Spouses
N	45
Average Age	37
Average Number of Children	1.5
Family Life Cycle
Young, no kids	24%
Dependent kids	58%
Mature, kids gone	18%
Work Orientation
Career	63%
Income	37%
Work Stage
Starting	0%
Establishing	45%
Maintaining	55%
Finishing	0%
Employment Experience as Spouse
Interruption	64%
No change/not working	36%
Spousal Assistance
Yes	24%
No	76%

	Adjustment (Males and Females)

	Cultural Adjustment (scale of 1 to 7)	Interactional Adjustment (scale of 1 to 7)	Personal Adjustment (scale of 1 to 5)
All	5.9	4.7	3.5
Female	6.0**	4.8	3.5
Male	5.6**	4.5	3.3
Career-Oriented	6	5.2	3.7
-Males	5.5**	4.2**	3.4
-Females	6.1**	4.9**	3.6
**statistically significant differences

2. INTERVIEW RESULTS (33 male spouses)
Spousal Employment Assistance (8 received assistance)
Rating of assistance:	Helpful	2
	So-so	5
	Not helpful	0
	No response	1

Employment-related assistance received:
Job search assistance (4)	external career counseling staff person to help spouses find jobs
Direct employment (1)	part-time job
Cash payment (3)	paid for further education

Employment assistance and job status:
	Job status
Employment assistance	Working	Not working	Not looking	Total
			for work
Yes	5	1	1	7
No	15	7	4	26
Total	20	8	5	33

Employment-related assistance desired:
Nothing expected (19)
Networking information/assistance (11)	list of employment agencies networking contacts list of other Western companies using English-speaking staff meet other spouses, particularly those looking for work, preferably through spouse association with list of jobs
Jobs with large employers (3)	information on internal jobs
Career counseling (3)	job search assistance
Own business (2)	assistance to set up own business

Relocation assistance:
Rating of assistance:	Helpful	15
	So-so	12
	Not helpful	3
	Missing	3
Relocation assistance received:
Very common -housing allowances -school fees -moving expenses -orientation (ranging from tourist brochures to several days with relocation consultants before and after moving) -international medical insurance coverage -language training Less common -car/driver -'look-see' trips before deciding whether to accept the assignment -cross-cultural training -home leave -cash in various forms (eg. relocation allowances, payment of household bills)

Desired provision of relocation/
mobility management services:

External consultants        67%
Internal HR                      33%

Relocation assistance desired:

-male spouse contacts, information on clubs, expatriate associations
-practical support immediately upon arrival and over the first few weeks of settling-in (preferably from another spouse already settled in)
-HR-spouse link; flexibility in spousal assistance; help for spouses in trouble

Read the related article:

Managing Global Talent: What Do Expatriate Spouses Need?

Report to Participants

By Dr. Nina Cole
Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada


July 2008