WOMEN Unlimited Webinar highlights working abroad—an often-ignored fast track for women

New York, NY, August 6, 2015 – One of the best ways for women to advance their careers is taking on assignments abroad. However, females account for only 20 percent of the expatriate population.

WOMEN Unlimited, Inc. hosted a webinar, “Expatriate Women: How Working Abroad Fast Tracks Female Talent”, on June 9, 2015 in conjunction with consultants from Leverage HR, to provide a forum for its corporate partners to discuss the challenges, opportunities and next steps needed to encourage more women to get on this fast track to leadership roles.

Dr. Rosina Racioppi, President and CEO of WOMEN Unlimited, Inc. moderated the webinar, part of a series on how organizations can create strategies that support the development and advancement of women.

WOMEN Unlimited, a strategic resource for its corporate partners, offered the webinar in response to the real and perceived challenges women and their organizations face regarding expat assignments. These stumbling blocks often include: family obligations, a lack of female role models and /or a dearth of organizational support to prepare the team member for the assignment.

“At WOMEN Unlimited, we look to create resources that help our corporate partners grow the talent that will produce bottom-line results. Today, a global business mindset is an important way to do that and we want to help women get on board,” Dr. Racioppi said.

Sapna Welsh and Caroline Kersten partners of Leverage HR, and authors of Worldly Women, led the webinar. They offered training and guidance on how to get more women placed in international assignments, especially now that these opportunities are on the rise.

“Women face barriers in getting these international roles. These barriers can be self-imposed or they can be from their organization,” Welsh said.

Women are often overlooked for these opportunities because of unconscious bias, Kersten said. For example, an employee may be overlooked because she recently had a baby or got married. Often, these international career opportunities arise when women are in their 30s and also considering starting a family. While it is true women often consider many factors when making career decisions, Kersten said, it doesn’t mean these openings are off the table.

Women should “Never assume others know what you want,” when making their interest in expat positions known to your organization.

Welsh said international assignments are a quantum leap in leadership learning, especially because they often take team members out of their comfort zone, forcing the participant to bring different cultures together and encouraging open mindedness, self-reflection, new perspectives, and diversity of thought.

“The key is to educate women and companies about the benefit of these roles,” Racioppi said. Proper support before, during, and after the assignment ensures peak performance and increases retention rates.

“This webinar got to the heart of how, and why overseas assignments develop more globally prepared women,” Dr. Racioppi said. It is one way, WOMEN Unlimited is committed to providing organizational solutions to its corporate partners.

For information WOMEN Unlimited, Inc. and our development programs, contact: corp@women-unlimited.com or (212) 572-6211.

About WOMEN Unlimited
WOMEN Unlimited is the organizational solution for leading global corporations. Through partnering with WOMEN Unlimited, these corporations establish an integrated talent management strategy, which positively impacts bottom-line results. The wide range of programs and initiatives available through WOMEN Unlimited ensures that talented women, their managers and their corporate leaders have a unified approach to achieving and exceeding corporate goals.

About Dr. Rosina Racioppi

As President and Chief Executive Officer of WOMEN Unlimited, Inc., Dr. Rosina Racioppi spearheads her organization’s initiatives to help Fortune 1000 companies cultivate the talent they need for ongoing growth and profitability. Under her leadership, Women Unlimited, Inc. partners with organizations across a wide range of industries to develop their high-potential women and to build a pipeline of diverse and talented leaders.

Prior to joining WOMEN Unlimited, Inc. Dr. Racioppi held executive management positions in human resources at Degussa Corporation, Nextran (a division of Baxter Corporation) and Beechwood Data Systems. She has over 25 years of experience in Organization Planning and Development, Compensation and Benefits, Training and Development, Safety, Quality Management, Staffing and Employee Relations.

Dr. Racioppi earned her doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Master’s of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University and is certified in the Hay Job Evaluation Process and the Crosby Total Management System.

Additionally, Dr. Racioppi is an active member of the Society of Human Resources Managers, The American Society of Training and Development and The New Jersey Human Resources Planning Group. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the University of Pennsylvania CLO Alumni Network.