China's expatriate population is expected to grow this year,
according to a recent study by Hewitt Associates, a global human
resource services company.
Traditionally this would see more expatriate men working in
China, but the newest tendencies indicate that international career
women are also entering the Chinese labor market.
Shanghai maintains a large concentration of China's expatriate
population, mainly through the strong American and German
communities in the city. According to the Shanghai Municipal Labor
and Social Security Bureau, 51,000 foreign people were working in
Shanghai in June 2006, with over half of them employed in the
service industry such as marketing.
At the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai, the
largest US chamber in Asia with 3,600 members, one-fourth are
women, and the number is increasing. All their members are mid- to
top-level professionals.
Brenda Foster is both a high-profile member of the expatriate
community and AmCham Shanghai's president. Recruited from Hawaii to
take the position in September, Foster says Shanghai is a vibrant
city and progressive toward expatriate women.
"There are many examples of successful businesswomen in this
town, both expatriates and local women," Foster says. "As long as
you are willing to work hard, there are few other cities in the
world that offer as much opportunity as Shanghai does for
professional women."
Another international businesswoman working in Shanghai is Gerda
Wellnitz of Germany. In March 2006, she sold her successful
marketing business in the Munich area before moving to
Shanghai.
Now Wellnitz, 43, is the marketing and sales director of
Yingyazhijie Advertising. She specializes in offering German
customers a combination of executive marketing and a knowledge of
intercultural challenges standing between Chinese and European
companies.
Importance of Putonghua
"I am putting the culture gap to positive use," she says about
her way of working in marketing in China.
Wellnitz started learning Putonghua when she moved to Shanghai
"because it is very important in the communication industry to know
the local language, and it also improves my understanding on how
Chinese people think".
"In order to succeed in Shanghai as a businesswoman, you need
enthusiasm and a network," she says. "Things take time. Since I
might live in Shanghai for only three or four years, I am not
establishing my own business here."
Nearly 10 years ago, Sharon Rugebregt became the youngest woman
in Indonesia to attain a high-profile position as director of sales
and marketing. She managed the prestigious Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta
until she moved to Shanghai in December 2005. Now, at 34, she
provides marketing for Lufthansa as well as some local hotels in
Shanghai.
"For me it is key to be recognized as myself, not just as Mrs.
Rugebregt," she says, suggesting the unimportance of gender in many
jobs.
(China Daily January 25, 2007)