Around one in four women move abroad for work-related reasons, according to InterNations, the world’s largest network for expats.
In its latest survey on expats’ job satisfaction, the company interviewed around 7,000 working women living in 168 countries. Expats from 152 nationalities, including the US, UK, Germany, and Russia, took part.
InterNations then ranked the top ten best countries for working expat women based on their likelihood of having a higher salary than back home, satisfaction with career prospects, and the number of weekly working hours a week.
Scroll down to see, in descending order, the top ten countries for expat career women.
10. Ireland — expat women here say they enjoy high job security and good work-life balance. Many women here work in healthcare.
Chance of a higher salary: 51%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 63%
Weekly full-time working hours: 41 hours
9. Kenya — one in six expat women say they earn more than $150,000 (£109,000) a year in gross household income, which is twice the global average. However, many of them say they work long hours and have less job security.
Chance of a higher salary: 36%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 60%
Weekly full-time working hours: 46.4 hours
8. The US — like in Kenya, one in six expat women said they had a yearly income of more than $150,000 (£109,000). However, it seems to come at a price — only around half of respondents said they were happy with their working hours.
Chance of a higher salary: 62%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 64%
Weekly full-time working hours: 43 hours
7. The UK — the fields of work are more diverse for expat women in Britain, InterNations said. However, 80% of respondents here said they earned less than $75,000 (£54,000) per year, which some said weren't enough to cover their daily necessities.
Chance of a higher salary: 51%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 67%
Weekly full-time working hours: 41.1 hours
6. Kazakhstan — more than half the women interviewed here moved for work-related reasons: Either because they found a job on their own, were sent by their employers at home, or were recruited by a local company.
Chance of a higher salary: 62%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 67%
Weekly full-time working hours: 45 hours
5. New Zealand — some 28% of women moved here to increase their quality of life, rather than for job reasons. About a third of the expat women here work part-time.
Chance of a higher salary: 53%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 61%
Weekly full-time working hours: 41.8 hours
4. Bahrain — women in this country work the fewest hours out of the ten countries in this list. 77% of working women here also said they were happy with their work-life balance. Bahrain and New Zealand were the only two countries that was also on InterNations' top ten countries for working women last year.
Chance of a higher salary: 65%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 65%
Weekly full-time working hours: 40.9 hours
Source: Business Insider
3. Cambodia — this country scored highest in terms of satisfaction with working hours and job security. One Russian expat added: "There are so many ways to develop yourself and try yourself in different spheres."
Chance of a higher salary: 33%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 63%
Weekly full-time working hours: 42.4 hours
2. Myanmar — 39% of female expats here say they have more than enough household income to cover all their basic needs.
Chance of a higher salary: 46%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 70%
Weekly full-time working hours: 45.5 hours
1. Mexico — two-thirds of expats living here say they are satisfied with their job overall. One German who was interviewed added that the country was "an environment where expats have a good standing."
Chance of a higher salary: 29%
Satisfaction with career prospects: 68%
Weekly full-time working hours: 45 hours
Here's a map of all the countries.
