外派：女性晉升的捷徑

國際經(jīng)驗對任何人的職業(yè)都有益。但專家說，對試圖在男性主導的商業(yè)世界中脫穎而出的女性，海外經(jīng)驗尤其有益。

對于安德里亞·哈加德-凱恩（Andrea Huggard-Caine）來說，在80年代花旗銀行（Citibank）的一筆收購交易中作為團隊一員被派往意大利，是改變?nèi)松╨ife-changing）的一件大事。

“It broadens your vision,” says Ms Huggard-Caine, who was born in Argentina and brought up in Brazil, where she was educated at an American school.“I'm multicultural and speak five languages.But until I actually lived abroad, I did not have it all figured out from a multicultural perspective,” says Ms Huggard-Caine, who now has her own consulting business.

“它拓寬了我的視野，”現(xiàn)在經(jīng)營著自己的咨詢公司的安德里亞說。她在阿根廷出生，巴西長大，并在當?shù)匾凰绹鴮W校接受教育。她說：“我來自多元文化背景，會說五種語言。但在我真正到國外生活之前，我從未從多元文化的角度來看待過這一切?！?/p>

在企業(yè)環(huán)境（corporate setting）中，外派崗位（overseas posting）可以成為女性雇員在職業(yè)生涯中取得突破的一個方式。在咨詢師和作者斯坦西·波丹（Stacie Berdan）在為她的《外派晉升術(shù)》（Get Ahead by Going Abroad）采訪的對象中，超過80%的女性雇員都表示，外派崗位幫助她們爭?。╯ecure）到更高層的職位。

在全球化經(jīng)濟（globalised economy）中，國際經(jīng)驗對任何人的職業(yè)都有益。然而波丹認為，對于試圖在男性主導（male-dominated）的商業(yè)世界中脫穎而出（stand out）的女性來說，海外經(jīng)驗尤其有益。

“The women I interviewed said there were opportunities they did not have in their home market that they could tap into somewhere else, and that they could use[the experience]to differentiate themselves,” she says.

她說：“我采訪的女性表示，海外崗位使她們得以利用她們在國內(nèi)沒有的機遇，借此讓自己與眾不同。”

然而，雖然外派崗位提供了很多好處，但它們也給女性帶來特別的挑戰(zhàn)。

These range from the practical, such as navigating unfamiliar childcare and school systems, to the question of the “trailing spouse” or working in cultures where male suspicion of women in business persists.

這包括現(xiàn)實挑戰(zhàn)（對付不熟悉的托兒和學校系統(tǒng)），“拖油瓶配偶”問題，以及在一個職業(yè)女性遭到男性頑固質(zhì)疑的文化中工作。

獵頭公司ManpowerGroup的全球戰(zhàn)略與人才事務(wù)執(zhí)行副總裁瑪拉·斯旺（Mara Swan）說：“一個主要擔憂是丈夫的角色。 在某些國家，如果他們不工作并且接替（take over）了女性的角色，他們被接納的程度不如這里?！?/p>

雖然很多國際城市和組織早已具備（well-established）面向外派雇員（expat）妻子的社交機會，但不久以前，外派雇員丈夫的需求還是被忽略。

同樣，一些國家的高管可能不愿意（reluctant）接受女性成為企業(yè)領(lǐng)導者?，斃硎?，在那種情況下：“最重要的是確立她作為決策者（decision maker）的角色，而這一訊息往往不得不來自最高層。這種認可是非常重要的。”

Such problems can be overcome.“I was late-20s and blonde and in Asia, and I was not taken seriously at first,” says Ms Berdan, who worked for several years in Hong Kong at Burson-Marsteller, the communications firm.“But once you deliver, that's all people care about.”

這些問題都可以被克服。在香港為博雅公共關(guān)系公司（Burson-Marsteller）工作過幾年的波丹說：“我被派往亞洲的時候還不到30歲，金發(fā)，一開始沒有被嚴肅對待。但當你拿出業(yè)績的時候，業(yè)績是人們唯一關(guān)心的事情?！?/p>

For some women, the first hurdle may be winning the overseas posting in the first place.“The vast majority of the world is open to women, yet companies are unsure and see it as high risk,” says Ms Berdan.“A lot of it has to do with the fact that HR departments are not global and make assumptions.”

對有些女性來說，第一關(guān)可能是爭取到外派崗位。波丹認為：“這個世界絕大多數(shù)地方都向女性開放，但很多公司不確定，視其為高風險。這其中有很大一部分是因為人事部門不夠全球化，往往憑假設(shè)判斷?！?/p>

This may help explain why the proportion of women expats working in business remains small.While the 2016 Global Mobility Trends Survey—from BGRS, the global relocation services firm—recorded the highest proportion of female expats in the survey's 21-year history, they still made up just 25 per cent of the total.

這或許有助于解釋為什么商界的女性外派雇員比例仍然較小。雖然在全球搬家服務(wù)公司BGRS的“2016年全球流動性趨勢調(diào)查”（2016 Global Mobility Trends Survey）中，女性外派雇員的比例創(chuàng)下該調(diào)查21年來的最高紀錄，但她們?nèi)灾徽伎倲?shù)的25%。

盡管如此（nevertheless），女性對外派工作的要求正在增長。專業(yè)服務(wù)公司普華永道（PwC）最近一份調(diào)查顯示，70%以上的千禧女性（millennial women）（出生于1980至1995年期間的女性）表示想在本國以外工作。

In competitive labour markets, therefore, companies that want to attract the best employees need to be ready to support and encourage their female executives to work abroad.Ms Berdan argues that HR departments have a key role in this：they can both challenge any resistance towards women seeking overseas positions and encourage those who have not yet considered the advantages of an overseas posting.

因此，在競爭性的勞動力市場，企業(yè)若想吸引最優(yōu)秀的員工，就得準備好支持和鼓勵其女性高管到海外去工作。波丹認為，人事部門在這方面發(fā)揮著關(guān)鍵作用：他們既能對尋求外派崗位的女性所遭遇的任何阻力發(fā)起挑戰(zhàn)，又能對那些還沒有考慮過外派工作優(yōu)勢的女性給予鼓勵。

All expats have to excel at what they do—“and that's gender neutral,” she says.The further question for employers is “about making sure opportunities are open to everybody”.

所有外派雇員都必須拿出優(yōu)異的業(yè)績——“而那是性別中立的，”波丹表示。對雇主來說，更深層面的問題是“關(guān)于如何確保這些機會向所有人開放”。

詞匯總結(jié)

multicultural[m?lt?'k?lt?（?）r（?）l]

adj.多種文化的；反映多種文化的；適合于多種文化的

I'm multicultural and speak five languages.

我來自多元文化背景，會說五種語言。

tap into 利用；開發(fā)

differentiate[,d?f?'ren??e?t]

v.區(qū)分，區(qū)別，辨別

“The women I interviewed said there were opportunities they did not have in their home market that they could tap into somewhere else, and that they could use[the experience]to differentiate themselves,” she says.

她說：“我采訪的女性表示，海外崗位使她們得以利用她們在國內(nèi)沒有的機遇，借此讓自己與眾不同。”

hurdle['h??d（?）l]

n.障礙；跳欄；欄

For some women, the first hurdle may be winning the overseas posting in the first place.

對有些女性來說，第一關(guān)可能是爭取到外派崗位。

expat[??ks?p?t]

n.移居國外者

This may help explain why the proportion of women expats working in business remains small.

這或許有助于解釋為什么商界的女性外派雇員比例仍然較小。