As the Sales Director of a U.S. firm, you regularly travel to international sites. Today, you and your technical support team fly from Dallas to Seoul, South Korea.

After a pre-client strategy review, you arrive at your first appointment. A strong relationship with this Korean firm is key because you want to open up many opportunities in this member of the Four Tigers. Much to your dismay, the Korean management basically ignores your presence, never responds to your questions, and presents all their inquiries to your subordinates. What's going on?

a) You have something between your teeth.  
b) You are female.  
c) This is an episode of The X-Files.  
 
Answer: b) According to the book Asia for Women on Business by Tracey Wilen and Patricia Wilen (1995, Stone Bridge Press) the South Korean business culture is seen by many western women as blatantly sexist.

Inequalities in pay and opportunity are so entrenched that some Koreans will meet a female executive simply out of curiosity -- just to see a "live one."

In Confucian cultures, a woman's role is traditionally one of deference to men. In that respect, Asian traditions, philosophies, value systems, and cultural premises can be at odds with western sensibilities.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, sometimes women inadvertently receive too much of the wrong kind of attention. I encountered a very common type of miscommunication during a trip to South America. My Hispanic male client and I were working late on a project. Because I was famished, and often work over a business dinner in the U.S., I suggested we continue the meeting at a nice, nearby restaurant.

Now, had I invited several of our co-workers with us, he would have interpreted the situation as totally business. However, because a lone female extended the invitation to dinner -- no matter how legitimate my intentions were -- he inferred it differently.

Fortunately, I quickly realized my mistake, apologized for my lack of formality, and met him back on neutral ground at the office in the morning.

Many female executives from the U.S. are well-educated, well-trained, and well-aware of their capabilities. The direct, energetic style that plays well for women (and men) on Wall Street or Washington does not translate well in many other parts the world. For example, in the U.S., good salespeople get excited about their products.

They are trained to inject emotion into their presentations in order to motivate. In addition, salespeople generally ask questions of their prospects in an attempt to gain interaction and build trust.

However, in much of Asia, emotional, interactive presentations do not generate this desired effect. Even extended eye contact can generate feelings of discomfort and aggression. Several women I know have given speeches in Japan that have fallen flat because these ebullient, animated females gesticulate and display emotion. Their Japanese audiences were so distracted by their gestures and facial expressions that they didn't hear a word of the presentations. Sometimes, attendees even unconsciously mimicked the "faces" made by the women at the podium.

Along with the obvious necessity of exhibiting greater decorum and formality when in international locations, women need to be aware of specific religious traditions in many nations. For example, Orthodox Jews and Muslims are traditionally prohibited from touching women (outside of their families). This precludes the strong handshake that is so integral to our North American greetings. The complexities of Islamic belief systems are encountered in many countries, including much of the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

In Israel, when a woman unknowingly shakes hands (or worse, kisses) a devout Orthodox Jew, the man is required to undergo ritual purification. That's definitely not the kind of impression women want to make upon potential new clients.

As in most areas of life, being female in the global marketplace has both advantages and disadvantages. It's our job to maximize the former and minimize the latter.  

Reprinted from IndustryWeek, August 25, 1998