RISMEDIA, Nov. 17 — American women are less likely than their male counterparts to accept an employer’s request to relocate due to concerns about spouses and f ami lies, according to a joint survey released today by Worldwide ERC®, the association for global workforce mobility, and Prudential Relocation, a Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) business.

According to the Relocating Women in the U.S. : Trends and Comparisons survey, 66% of women and 81% of men typically accept an offer to permanently relocate within the U.S. The survey revealed that at present, the largest proportion of relocated employees for permanent (47%), short-term (34%) and commuter (36%) assignments within the United States are married men.

Survey respondents noted that women appear even less likely to accept short-term assignments, which may last from one month to one year. The survey noted that 80% of men, and only 60% of women typically accept such temporary assignments. The survey was conducted in June and July 2005, and reflects responses from 136 companies that participated in the survey.

“We have been tracking the incidence of female transferees for nearly two decades,” said Worldwide ERC(R) Executive Vice President Cris Collie, CAE. “We know that relocation opportunities are increasing for women, because we’ve seen the percentage of female transferees grow from 11% of transferees in 1986 to over 30% in 2003. Continuing to identify the issues that create obstacles to relocation gives companies solid data to design more effective and competitive relocation policies.”

A majority of survey respondents indicated that they use relocation as a tool to groom employees for more demanding leadership roles. Nearly 75% said employees who wish to advance into senior positions need to relocate with the company at some point during their careers.

When survey participants cited the top three reasons they believe employees accept relocations, the responses focused on increased compensation, professional development, and an advanced job title. In addition, they said that women place much more emphasis on f ami ly issues than men and weigh such positives as “moving closer to relatives,” “improved opportunities for spouse’s job,” and “better opportunities for children” more heavily in their decision-making process. Collie notes that “with the greater incidence of dual career couples and women in the workforce, these results are to be expected. In today’s business environment, f ami ly issues necessarily come to the forefront and transferees must evaluate these needs when offered a relocation.”

For both men and women, the high cost of housing is one of the top reasons they would be reluctant to accept a transfer. Survey respondents also noted that men and women strongly agree on “employee/f ami ly resistance to the move” and “undesirable location” as major factors in reluctance to relocate. However, while men’s reluctance issues are prioritized largely from a financial orientation, women again place a higher value on f ami ly considerations.

“The results of the Relocating Women in the U.S.: Trends and Comparisons survey are important when we consider the impending labor crisis, the more significant role and percentage of women in the workforce, and the need for companies to keep at least part of their workforce mobile in order to maintain a competitive edge. Therefore, addressing the reasons that employees - and women in particular - may be reluctant to accept a relocation is critical,” said Prudential Relocation President Margery Marshall.

She urged companies to immediately begin to shape policies and programs that will help them attract and retain the people they need to be competitive in the future. She also recommended three steps employers can take now to make relocation more attractive to current and prospective employees.

“Employers should recognize and communicate about the top relocation motivators - higher pay, enhancing or developing skill sets, and promotions. They also must develop programs that speak directly to the f ami ly-focused issues that concern women. Finally, employers must ensure that their relocation policies and programs have flexibility and choice that address f ami ly issues and f ami ly needs,” said Marshall .

 

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