Globalization, Women, and Business:A Study of the Adaptation of African Businesswomen in Korea

Abstract

With the embracing of globalization, nations have seen a significant increase in women’s international business participation. Several factors contributed to this shift including improvements or modifications in many national policies, improvements in gender equality laws allowing many African women to engage in business and travel without approval or permission from their husbands, huge reductions in national spending, and an overall declining world economy. Traditionally, the vast majority of people migrating voluntarily have been men. At the start of this new century, the number of women migrants has increased significantly. While many African migrants favor the western countries because of the proximity and ease of getting there, the numbers choosing to migrate to Asian countries is on the rise. The focus of this paper is on African businesswomen in Korea. Specifically, this paper examines reasons for migrating to Korea, challenges/opportunities encountered and coping strategies. Economic opportunities emerged as the main reason for migrating. Other reasons including seeking peace of mind, seeking to start a new life, and running from in-laws were also cited by both the married and unmarried participants in the study.