Safety in public spaces can be a challenge for expat women
Unfortunately, women are more vulnerable to getting harassed and assaulted in public spaces than men. Some cities and countries can be less safe for women to navigate, especially at night and when unaccompanied.
In 2022, the luggage storage app Bounce conducted a study about the safest countries for women to travel alone. Ireland, Austria, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland were ranked as the safest ones based on criteria like their safety index, their global gender gap index, and the rates of violence experienced by women. Some countries with a score of 50% or less when it comes to the percentage of women who feel safe walking alone at night include Australia, Greece and multiple South American countries (Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia).
On the forum of Expat.com, an American expat by the name of CaribeGal shares her experience of receiving unsolicited male attention in public space in Mexico, especially when she was unaccompanied by her husband. A lot of the attention didn't feel disrespectful to her, but other expat women in Mexico on the same forum thread disagreed. Two other American expats, Taka.rose and travellight, found the similar attention they experienced unsettling. One says that she has had to be very firm in rejecting sexual overtures in order for men to leave her alone in public.
Some countries/cities with a big problem of sexual harassment on public transit have even created women-only passenger cars and taxis. Since 2006, all subway lines in Rio de Janeiro have been legally required to have one pink-coded car reserved for women. This also exists in Japan, India and Egypt. Cairo even has a system of “Pink Taxis” that are driven only by women drivers and come equipped with cameras and microphones.
Laws in your new country might treat men and women differently
Even as a non-citizen, you are likely to be bound to most of your host country's gender laws. Some of these laws may seem discriminatory, especially compared to more progressive laws in your country of origin.
The World Bank reports that 104 countries restrict women from doing certain jobs. For instance, in Malaysia, women cannot transport goods or passengers at night as part of their job. Some of these laws don't concern work. In the UAE, if an expat woman gets divorced from her husband (regardless of whether he's Emirati or an expat himself), the shariah law makes it unusually difficult for her to get custody of her children.
Human Rights Watch has raised the alarm about this discrimination faced not only by local but also expat women in case of divorce. For example, the press has mediatized the case of Afsana Lachaux, a former British expat in the UAE, who lost custody of her son in 2011 after divorcing her French husband. The Court of Appeal in France ruled her divorce in the UAE as “discriminatory,” but she still hasn't been able to gain joint custody of her son. This happened even if they had never had an Islamic marriage and even if their marriage had been first registered in the UK.
On the forum of Expat.com, women expats in other conservative countries say that some of the restrictive gender-based laws can be worked around. Expats in the Saudi city of Jubail, for instance, say that women can move around freely and safely as long as they wear the abaya. Another loophole is booking official meetings to be able to work with male colleagues in a mixed-gender space. Networking with women (both local and expat) in these countries can be the best way to learn strategies to work around these restrictions.
Gender expectations in each country's corporate culture can be different
Some rules are not written down in law – they are unspoken, and they form part of the fabric of social norms and corporate culture. Gender equality in the workplace might not be a priority in some countries, and patriarchal rules about dress codes or participating in meetings might be pervasive.
Among highly-developed countries, Switzerland has an unusually low rating for gender equality in the workplace. The Economist's glass ceiling index ranks it 26 out of 29 in a list of OECD countries. The average gender pay gap in OECD countries is 14%, but it is 17% in Switzerland. Only 56% of women in Switzerland work full-time, and a mere 26% make up the top management. This structural inequality affects corporate culture. In a BBC article titled “The sexism that female expats are still having to endure,” one Canadian expat in the country says that male colleagues have often presented (and received credit for) reports she has prepared – just to create a better impression with male clients.
A PwC study among expat women has found that, compared to men, they are more hesitant about being sent on international assignments in countries with a patriarchal reputation, especially those in the Middle East and Africa. In contrast, they expressed a strong interest in being posted to countries with strong female leadership (e.g., a woman Prime Minister) and women-friendly laws like equal parental leave for both mothers and fathers.
Expat women can suffer the psychological burden of being the “trailing spouse”
The “trailing spouse” is the partner in a couple who follows their husband/wife abroad as a dependent. Their spouse gets a job abroad, and the entire family moves. The overwhelming majority of trailing spouses are women. In the new country, the trailing spouse might not be able to work on a dependent visa. Or they might be able to work only part-time, on freelance gigs, or in a completely different field. They might need to embark on the lengthy bureaucratic process of applying for a separate work visa. They might face an identity crisis as they are stripped of independence, isolated from their friends back home, and forced into a caretaking role.
Expat.com has interviewed multiple women about their experience as trailing spouses or their experience working with them. Katharina von Knobloch is a consultant who often works with trailing spouses. In her interview, she talks about the various problems that these women face: language barriers, administrative problems in getting their qualifications recognized, prejudice from HR officers who see them as “ spoilt, ambitionless women who have chosen family over professional fulfillment,” loss of confidence, an increase in the income disparity with their spouse, difficulty handling the responsibility of childcare and housework alone, difficulty making local friends. She advises these women to use their creativity and resilience to carve out their own space even if they are on a dependent visa.
Marcie, an American expat who has followed her husband to multiple countries, says in her interview for Expat.com that the biggest challenge has been having to repeatedly quit her job in the US each time her spouse was posted abroad. However, she has been creative and resourceful – she has made the best of her time as a trailing spouse to learn new skills (even gaining a certificate!), volunteer, write and explore new places.
