development needs on assignment. “Fortunately, in recent years, we’ve seen increased
attention on trailing spouses and partners, which is great,” says Karlijn. “Safe Passage Across Networks [SPAN], for example, is also doing an amazing job when it comes to international schools and raising awareness of the transience of international schools’ entire community.” But across the Global Mobility supply chain, for
reasons including time and budget constraints and a focus on the compliance angle, there’s still little attention paid on the corporate side to children moving. This means there is a significant lack of understanding of the impact of those transitions on children’s mental health and sense of identity, says Karlijn. “At Expat Valley we are asking what
corporate
employers can do to be more inclusive and attentive to children who are going on an international relocation. What could household goods removal companies or destination service providers do to be more responsive to the needs of those children, for example? We are currently involved in a project with Harmony Relocation Network on an overarching strategy. They recognise in the industry and in their realm of responsibility there are very few organisations that identify themselves as child- friendly because that’s just not where we are yet. But they are now beginning to consciously think of children within the scope of their services.”
ACCOMMODATING FAMILY NEEDS IN POLICY AND PRACTICE Karlijn is passionate about addressing children’s needs, feelings and aspirations around international moves. This includes explaining the ‘why’ of the move through customised books about their parent’s employer and storytelling around other children’s experiences.* Raised by parents who were
thought processes at the time. “My husband’s boss at the time was also an expat.
He immediately understood and the issue was resolved. But that’s what we were looking for as parents. This very personalised experience touches on what families are going through daily. A misunderstanding of what it means to raise your family in a foreign country without your reliable support network. It’s also about understanding what is happening in your environment because of the cultural differences and systems not being designed for international children.”
RAISING AWARENESS, ACTION AND CHANGE Karlijn has seen keen interest from employers for her work in this area. “I can still count on the fingers of one hand the employers who weren’t interested,” she says. “Most employers say they have never thought about this. It’s not a matter of not wanting to support children and families; it’s just a matter of no vendor, policy adviser or benchmarking effort historically has drawn the attention of the organisation towards looking at what
they are
actually doing for the children. That is where our journey with our partners starts. “As much as possible, it’s about raising awareness for
the children of international moves. There is research out there that highlights the importance of caring for these children. Family reasons are a major reason for assignment refusal and assignment failures. However, those findings have had little impact on the mobility industry, so that is what we are advocating for. “We run inspiration sessions, inviting GM professionals
teachers and in a
family environment where inclusion and people feeling represented “was something that’s just a natural driving force,” Karlijn’s trajectory is informed by compassion and an awareness of “what it means for people who are fighting to find their role in society.” From these foundations, Karlijn trained and worked as a children’s therapist. Accompanying her husband on assignment to Shanghai, she continued to work in a therapeutic role alongside international hospitals and schools in the expat community and then worked in international education consulting. These almost six years in Shanghai coincided with
the couple starting their own family and a tipping-point experience that led her to conclude that employers can do more to support families on assignment. “In Shanghai, we were identifying our own needs and trying to find solutions independently,” says Karlijn. “For some things, that worked really well. For others, it created a lot of unnecessary risk or time investments.” A pivotal moment was when Karlijn was pregnant and the washing machine caught fire. The family was trying to establish who was responsible for replacement and repairing the damage between local landlords and local HR in Shanghai. “We went back and forth until the point that we
realised it’s not about responsibility for this ancient washing machine. It’s that we are living here for work and nobody seems to understand our problem. The same with the baby. What if we go through a similar experience with something else and then what happens? Nobody knows how to support us. If we can’t figure out how to do this then I am not having my baby here,” says Karlijn of her
and their HR professionals to learn about the topic and children’s experiences in international relocation. We really add the human element back into the journey, which I think some organisations have lost touch with a little bit over time. We support organisations with reviewing their existing policies and aligning those with HR ambitions and even above that, their ESG ambitions.” Together with her colleagues at Expat Valley,
Karlijn has also created a First Aid Kid for children making international moves to help them deal with the emotional aspects of transition, as well as online resources. “The First Aid Kid contains materials to educate and support children with international moves, for example, hosting goodbye parties to create memories to learn about other children’s experiences. The materials are designed to meet children where they are on their journey and to help them to communicate with parents around any feelings they have towards international relocation.” Karlijn’s work is landing well with responsible
organisations looking to invest in the social impact of their organisations and go beyond the very minimum of policies, including around avoiding child labour in their supply chain. “If you look at the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of
the Child, Article 12 stipulates they
are supposed to have a say in any decisions made that really impact their lives. I would argue that international relocation significantly impacts a child’s life. But nowhere in those conversations are organisations supporting children. We are addressing the topic from different angles with employers. Change is a formula. If you raise awareness and act, then that leads to results and change. We have a great opportunity now to show we can change the systems that are supporting our children,” says Karlijn.
* Another resource is the 'Children's Assignment Letter' template for global mobility teams:
https://tinyurl.com/ mry937fr
81
THINK WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
