internationalsos.com - Press releases
Female business travel – is your employer keeping you safe abroad?19 July 2012London • Women now make up approximately 45% of the corporate travel market 19 July 2012: International SOS, the world’s leading medical and security services company, highlights the need for gender-specific, pre-travel training for female business travellers. Today, women hold one in five senior management positions globally*[1], and make up 45% of the corporate travel market, meaning that there are more women travelling for business than ever before. Despite an increasing number of women business travellers, organisations still have a long way to go when it comes to providing the right travel safety advice to female employees. Areas of particular concern for women abroad include; sexual and opportunistic crime threads, managing cultural sensitivities and understanding local health systems and risks. A recent International SOS survey of attendees to its pre-travel training for women in business found that 85% of respondents felt that their organisation should be more prepared to address the specific travel needs of women.**[2] International SOS has seen a 20 percent increase from 2011 in the number of women travellers calling its Assistance Centres for medical and travel security advice, with 751 women calling in the last two months, and 400 in June alone. Dr Edelyn Brawidjojo, Senior Coordinating Doctor, Northern Europe, International SOS Comments: “Companies have a tendency to ignore the fact that women may experience additional threats to those faced by their male counterparts when travelling on business. Prevention is far better than cure, and the rise in the number of women needing our assistance shows that employers have a real Duty of Care to better prepare their female workers for business trips. This is why we provide tailored advice and training modules, working with companies to keep their female travellers safe.” About International SOS International SOS (http://www.internationalsos.com/) is the world’s leading medical & security services company operating from over 700 sites in 70 countries with 10,000 employees, led by 1,100 physicians and 200 security specialists. Our global services include medical and risk planning, preventative programs, in-country expertise and emergency response for travellers, expatriates and their dependents of over 70 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. [1] *http://www.grantthornton.co.nz/Assets/ [2] **The poll was based on 120 respondents representing international organisations based in the Asia Pacific region, who attended a webinar on female travel tips organized by International SOS. |
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