We find out what measures Deloitte takes to ensure that qualified women are included in the selection pool for postings overseas.

Personality and proven capacity first

Top management commitment is a prerequisite for change

When picking someone to go overseas, Hélène Ratte, EMEA HR partner for Deloitte, says it is the personality of the individual, their proven capacity for working in a hostile environment which counts above all.

"We observe if they have been successful in a 'hostile environment' — whether this was a hardship destination, complexity of client, complexity of job, or a tough situation and see how much persistence these people have demonstrated,"  says Ratte.

For instance, Ratte is aware that if she sends someone to the Middle East they have to be able to cope with the Middle East complexity. When she feels a woman candidate is suitable for a job she builds up the case to make sure the candidate is accepted.

After finding "the person qualified to fit the clients' needs, HR ensures that qualified women are part of those short-listed for the assignment," says Ratte.

The balancing act

When sending out a number of employees, we try to mirror the breakdown of the population of the 'sending' country or qualified population, says Ratte. "For instance, 35 percent of your managers are women. If you are going to be sending ten people on an international assignment then three out the ten assignees should be women, to mirror the gender difference," she says.

"Whereas in Western Europe you can easily live with a balance of 60 to 40 either way, in the Middle East there is no way you would function with 50 to 50. You might send a ratio of 15 to 85 or 30 to 70. You need to keep the balance right," says Ratte, who explains that taking the numbers into account helps to push forwards women being sent on deployment.

"We have had women candidates going on assignment with all kinds of complexity. Their spouse works, they are pregnant, they have children — simple things of life. And then we help them out," says Ratte.

 "We've helped women's husbands find a job. We've had women working part time to cope with the difficulties of having children in countries where having children is not part of the routine of working women."

Dealing with the reality

Ratte is realistic about the future for women in business.

"The world of business was created in the 19th Century by men, for men. In the course of the 20th Century a number of women have gone into business. We're starting the 21st Century with a significant number of women, which varies from country to country," she says.

"I pick on the Middle East, but there are still some rather macho countries in continental Europe," she adds, pointing out that now there is an understanding that some women will be working in most places.

"You would be surprised as how many young women are working in these [macho] countries. It is coming up from the younger generation," she says.

"The only place I don't have women from is Saudi Arabia," says Ratte, "because they are forbidden to work. I'm not trying to change Saudi Arabia.  It will change over time, but probably not before my retirement!"

Slow but sure

Deloitte's Women in the Workforce programme helps countries understand what they can do to change the situation, "bearing in mind you don't change in no time flat," says Ratte.

First and foremost, the client seeks competence

"It is a series of measures that everybody can do to change their attitude towards working women, change their environment at work, change their internal culture — so that it will become a women-friendly environment," she says.

"We first do it for ourselves and then it can be part of our consulting spectrum," Ratte says.

Measures to take

Having more women on the board is part of the spectrum of activities that a good corporation should consider to be a more women-friendly environment, but Ratte believes that there is a series of other measures that you need to take.

According to Ratte, organisations need top management commitment, which involves measuring, convincing and reviewing. They also need to empower women, which involves networking coaching, training, mentoring and, finally, to manage diversity, which means sensitising, rewarding, innovating and changing.

"If you want your company to change you need top management commitment, you need to empower the women," emphasises Ratte. "You need to be sensitive to women's issues and reward those men and women who are doing something to bring about change," she says.

For instance, "the number of women in the younger generation is much greater than the over-50 generation," says Ratte. "It helps them to see women that have been successful and who sit on the board.  And it helps raise the level of awareness of the board if they have women within themselves. Of course it helps women to go on assignment for their career paths — like anyone else," says Ratte.

At the end of the day she says, "In our consulting-auditing-tax environment, our clients look to our people for their technical competence — their human competence and that can be a man or a woman."

November 2005

Natasha Gunn is the editor of Expatica HR.