Institutional discrimination of women and workplace harassment of female expatriates: Evidence from 25 host countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate workplace gender harassment of female expatriates across 25 host countries and consider the role of institutional-level gender discrimination as a boundary condition. Further, the study investigates the effects of workplace gender harassment on frustration and job satisfaction and general job stress as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThe sample is comprised of 160 expatriates residing in 25 host countries. The authors test the model using partial least-squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results show that female expatriates experience more workplace gender harassment than male expatriates. This effect is particularly pronounced in host countries with strong institutional-level gender discrimination. Moreover, the authors found significant main effects of gender harassment on expatriates’ frustration and job satisfaction. Further, the authors identified a significant association between frustration and job satisfaction. No significant moderation effect of general job stress was found.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s data are cross-sectional. Future studies are encouraged to use longitudinal research designs. Further, future studies could center on perpetrators of harassment, different manifestations of harassment, and effective countermeasures.Practical implicationsThe study raises awareness on the challenges of harassment of female expatriates and the role of the host country context. Further, the study shows the detrimental effects of gender harassment on female expatriates’ job satisfaction which is a central predictor of variables crucial to international assignments, for example, performance or assignment completion.Originality/valueThe study is among the first endeavors to include institutional-level gender discrimination as a boundary condition of workplace gender harassment of female expatriates, and therefore puts the interplay between macro- and micro-level processes into perspective.