Women in Dual-Career Couples in Asia: Maximizing Talent Management Potential

The problems faced by DCCs, and more specifically by women in them, are complex but not insurmountable. In Asia, women are negatively affected by the demands of balancing work and life. Socio-cultural factors and legacy gender gaps compound their problems. These women often end up stepping out of the workforce or willfully moving their careers into the slow lane. The loss of high-potential women translates into significant costs to organizations; it increases rehiring and training costs, depletes institutional knowledge, and reduces diversity.

The changing expectations of millennials in DCCs and the disruptions emanating from COVID-19 could set the stage for positive changes. They could prompt organizations to embrace the challenges of the entire DCC unit and their need for more flexible working arrangements. This would increase employee engagement and could prove cost-effective in the long term. 

Often referred to as “Power Couples”, DCCs referenced in this report include both opposite and same sex partners – married or unmarried, who are employed fulltime either with multinational or regional organizations and across industry sectors, and considered to be high-potential talent, and whose careers and lives are intertwined.

Addressing the DCC Challenge

• Offer the flexibility needed, especially at those critical inflection points in the DCC’s timeline when both partners need the highest level of support and empathy.

• Challenge conventional workplace paradigms by shifting culture and mental models to accommodate work-life issues: flexible workplace arrangements, leveraging technology to facilitate virtual communication and remote working.

• Encourage managers to “walk the talk” and signal strong support for the DCC model by nurturing an organizational culture that promotes work-life balance, while at the same time encourages ambitious career choices and pursuits by DCC partners.

• Develop supportive managers who are able and willing to offer timely growth opportunities and assess talent without judgment or bias.

• Undertake pre- and post-assignment planning that leverages external experts and coaches to gain a deeper appreciation of the implications of assuming a new role and/or career move, for the whole DCC unit.

• Identify executive sponsors who will champion the cause of women in DCCs at the highest level.

• Take the whole DCC into consideration, develop proactive approaches to talent management and mobility, and provide adequate supporting services, programs and budgets.

• Align with other multinationals to coordinate with relevant government bodies and/or ministries to advocate for the creation of favorable policies and processes to govern work authorizations for accompanying DCC partners in order to facilitate their relocation to the host country.