Looking out or looking up: Gender differences in expatriate turnover intentions

With the steady increase in the number of female expatriates and multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) pressing need for global female talent, understanding the factors that attract and retain female expatriates is urgent. Drawing from the literatures on gender differences in (domestic) labor turnover and gender differences in social networks, we investigate gender differences in expatriates' turnover intentions. We collected data via a questionnaire survey from an international sample of female (N=164) and male (N=1,509) expatriates who were on a company-sponsored international assignment at the time of completing the survey. Our findings show that female expatriates’ turnover intentions are mainly explained by satisfaction with company support. In contrast, male expatriates’ turnover intentions are explained by repatriation concerns and perceived gap between within- and outside-company career-advancement opportunities, in addition to satisfaction with company support. We did not find any gender differences in the levels of turnover intention per se.