Chapter 5 Culture, Management Style, and Business Systems 149 toward women have roots in ancient agriculture.51 The most frequently cited reason is the inability for women to succeed abroad. As one executive was quoted as saying, “Overall, female American executives tend not to be as successful in extended foreign work assign-ments as are male American executives.” Unfortunately, such attitudes are shared by many and probably stem from the belief that the traditional roles of women in male-dominated societies preclude women from establishing successful relationships with host-country associates. An often-asked question is whether it is appropriate to send women to conduct business with foreign customers in cultures where women are typically not in managerial positions. To some, it appears logical that if women are not accepted in managerial roles within their own cultures, a foreign woman will not be any more acceptable. In many cultures—Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latin American—women are not typi-cally found in upper levels of management (see Exhibit 5.4), and men and women are treated very differently. Moreover, the preferred leadership prototypes of male and female leaders varies across countries as well.52 Indeed, the scariest newspaper headline ever written may have been “Asia, Vanishing Point for as Many as 100 Million Women.” The article, appearing in the International Herald Tribune in 1991,53 points out that the birth-rate in most countries around the world is about 105 boys for every 100 girls. However, in countries like the United States or Japan, where generally women outlive men, there are about 96 men per 100 women in the population. The current numbers of men per 100 women in other Asian countries are as follows: Korea 105, China 106, India 108, and Pakistan 106.54 The article described systematic discrimination against females from birth. Now illegal everywhere, ultrasound units are still being used for making gender-specific abortion decisions, and all this prejudice against females is creating disruptive shortages of women. The latest birth statistics are even more chilling: Today in India, there are 112 boys born for every 100 girls, and in China, the ratio is 117 boys to 100 girls, with some villages reaching 150/100. 51“The Plough and the Now,” The Economist, July 23, 2011, p. 74. 52Lori D. Paris, Jon P. Howell, Peter W. Dorfman, and Paul J. Hanges, “Preferred Leadership Prototypes of Male and Female Leaders in 27 Countries,” Journal of International Business Studies 40 (2009), pp. 1396 – 405. 53See January 7, 1991, p. 1. Two decades later, with the widespread availability of portable sonograms, the problem appears to be getting worse. See Jonathan V. Last, “The War against Girls,” The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2011. 54Central Intelligence Agency, “Sex Ratio,” The World Factbook, http://www.cia.gov. Two ways to prevent the harassment of women. Mika Kondo Kunieda, a consultant at the World Bank in Tokyo explains, “I ride in a special women-only metro car that runs between 7:20 and 9:20 am. The cars were created in 2005 due to frequent complaints that women were being groped and sexually harassed. I was a victim a few times when I was younger, and it was—and still is—a humiliating experience. I had to learn how to position myself against moves even in the most overcrowded train. Now, I’ve seen a few men get visibly anxious when they realize they’ve accidentally boarded a car during women-only time!” One interpretation of the Koran specifies the cover-up pictured here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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