Trade tactics: women negotiators bring unique talents to the table. Don't disregard these valuable assets on your next trip to Asia.

When I stood at the lectern and looked around the audience at the 2002 Asian Franchising Conference, I realized I was the only non-Asian woman there. I had been told that men in this part of the world only wanted to do business with other men. This didn't seem to hinder five Asian men--an Indonesian, a Chinese, a Malaysian, a Singaporean, and an Indian--from approaching me after my speech to work with them to develop business franchises.

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Months later I spent an intense week-end with seven Indonesians developing the structure and content we needed to franchise an operation across 27 provinces. Though our group of four women and four men faced language and cultural barriers, the discussions flowed along productively and we completed the bulk of the task before lunch on Sunday.

After six trips to Asia in two years, and my involvement in research on how Canadian women approach business, I realize that businesswomen can significantly enhance trade relations and business development between Canada and Asia.

Canada could use this. We don't have the economic clout of the U.S. to garner the best deals, but with the increasingly protectionist stance of our southern neighbour on softwood lumber, spring wheat, cattle and more, we need to broaden the customer base for our exports. I read the Asian business papers everyday when I am there, and the signals are clear; Asians are really ramping up their level of consumerism, and they have an abundance of trained people seeking work and business opportunities. Canadians need to be as progressive as possible to strengthen our global economic position. Canadian businesswomen can help. Their business style often crosses east-west cultural barriers more easily, which can be a boon to negotiations.

When I was executive director for Alberta Women's Enterprise Initiative Association (AWEIA) from 1995 to 2000, we responded to more than 15,000 women planning for, starting up, and building businesses. Within this critical mass of women, we began to notice certain ways they generally preferred to approach business development and decided to pay closer attention to the trends.

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The personal touch

Women tend to invest a lot of energy establishing personal connections early in their business relationships. They want to know more about the person and find some common ground before getting down to business.

Amal Uman, a director with the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women, thinks this is true of women generally. She consistently finds that when women from different countries meet around the table, the first thing they do is determine what they have in common. She adds that the first thing the men want to know is how they are different.

In Asia, you can forget about getting your contract signed the first week you arrive. Business people want to spend time getting to know you before discussing business arrangements. In fact, even having the signed contract in your briefcase means nothing when you get back home if the relationship isn't solid. People are more important than commitments or time. This makes a woman's dedication to the personal touch critical in negotiations.

Focused learning

Women like to learn what they need to know from other people rather than from books or statistics, and they want that information when it actually serves a purpose. At AWEIA, the majority of clients pursuing business opportunities were busy with family responsibilities and volunteer commitments. When we suggested they conduct market research in libraries and on the Web, they needed a lot of coaching. But when we offered business-to-business links, they were like ducks in water.

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For example, one woman wanted to raise goats and sell their hair for clothing, but knew little about it. We searched our database, and three people in related fields came up. We linked her to these three, who told her all she needed to know about health regulations, distribution channels, pricing, suppliers, target markets, etc. They continued to provide advice and moral support as she launched her business.

At AWEIA we also held hundreds of networking sessions, because whenever we put businesswomen in a room together, a practical information exchange explosion would occur. Unlike many men, they aren't afraid to ask a lot of questions.

Maintaining communication

A verbal culture predominates in Indonesia, where I often work. Most people prefer to exchange information person to person, and document very little. They also operate more comfortably in the present moment, instead of reflecting and analyzing past results, or setting goals and focusing on the future--something fundamental to business in North America. By building relationships and a comfortable verbal dialogue, women can make operating in such a culture easier.

Women have had a lot of experience making inroads without much power or control, but this makes them motivated and keen to understand how to get things done without a lot of support. The businesswomen we observed at AWEIA were generally practical, organized and followed through on details. I have seen businessmen sit around the table and make decisions, but getting the groundwork done required the know-how of their female assistants.

Women's attention to detail and follow through, as well as their abilities to communicate on a more personal level with their contacts can be helpful in holding business people accountable in a non-threatening manner. In Asia, maintaining harmony in relationships is more important than adhering to business goals, so this is a key skill. People would rather say 'yes' to you and not follow through, than say 'no' to your face or openly challenge your decisions. Some friendly follow up is often required to make these relationships work and to keep communication open.

In addition to having some characteristics that could pave the way for business development with Asia, there are some situations where women are more comfortable. When meeting with the female owner of an undergarment manufacturing business, it seemed perfectly natural that she should ask me if I wanted to try some products on. After working through some production numbers with her, I made a few purchases. Edna Einsiedel, now Professor of Communications Studies at University of Calgary, has lived and worked in Asia and says that, with more women involved, we could broaden our range of trade relations between small and medium businesses, many of which are run by women.

The challenges

Businesswomen do face challenges though. Many women I interviewed about their experiences working in Asia mentioned difficulties. One woman who opened a private school in China said she faced considerably more "bureaucracy and game playing," as she phrased it, than her male colleague, and garnered less respect.

In many Asian societies, it's still acceptable to treat women as second-class citizens. If you operate solo, you might do well to have some local dignitary introduce you and recognize your credentials. Or, work in tandem with a male colleague who will publicly demonstrate his support for you.

Combining masculine and feminine business skills can actually provide the greatest advantage. Just as women have some skills that fit with Asian approaches to business, men can keep the focus on the big picture and stand firm when necessary. They set far-reaching goals and keep driving toward them, even if they don't tend to all the details. Thirty years in the workplace has proved to me that having a mix of men and women leads to a broader range of solutions, more balanced decision making, and healthier group dynamics.

Growing business presence

Of course, everyone is a unique individual. Gender expert Susan Ferner says being able to competently and confidently provide the skills people want is more important than gender. And I've noticed some North American women approach business in the same fashion as North American men. Even with individual differences though, business-women's involvement can go a long way to bridging cultural gaps and generating and sustaining business in Asia.

This is already happening to some degree, particularly through the Internet. Barry Lee Brisco, in his article "Asian Women Online - Making a Net Impact" says that "The number of women-only online support groups and e-mail lists for female entrepreneurs and business leaders has mush-roomed. Starting in New York, Webgrrls International has expanded into Asia with sites targeted at Hong Kong, China and Japan." (1) (Another is http://woman-asia-connect.com.)

Women's business organizations are a growing force in North America and Asia too. With women owning one third of businesses in Canada and the U.S., organizations such as Canadian Women's Business Network, the National Association of Women Business Owners, and others, are already firmly established.

Yet even less mature Asian markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Nepal, and the Philippines have national associations. Unifem has noted "Groups such as these have been formed to provide mutual support, improved access to information through sharing, create 'old girls' networks to compete with the 'old boys' networks that have tended to effectively exclude businesswomen, and undertake lobbying and advocacy with governments and within the business community." (2)

These groups are now establishing connections among themselves too. When a delegation from an Indonesian businesswomen's organization participated in a week-long mission in Canada in 2001, for instance, I was amazed at how well they bonded with their Canadian counterparts.

We can take these initiatives to a higher, more comprehensive level if we want to help Canada significantly expand trade activity with Asia. Top level trade missions, operational start ups in Asia, and marketing initiatives for Asian consumers deserve the full representation of competent western businesswomen. In Canada we have already demonstrated our progressive stance toward multiculturalism and women in business at home. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) has a "Business Women in Trade" section and tries to encourage women to join trade missions, though only 200 of the 1332 delegates, or 15%, on the last five Canada trade missions in 2001-2002 were women. I encourage businesswomen to participate in cementing business relationships that help us raise the bar internationally.

(1) Asian Women Online--Making a Net Impact, Barry Lee Brisco, courtesy of WomenAsia.com

(2) UNIFEM East and South East Asia Gender Issues Fact Sheet No 4 'Women's businesses and women in business'

By Corinne Tessier, CMA, FCMA 

Corinne Tessier, CMA, MBA, FCMA ([e-mail]) is a principal of Kootenay International.