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Redefining the Aussie Expat Woman in 2019

 

Redefining the Aussie Expat Woman in 2019

 

Redefining the Aussie Expat Woman in 2019 – As the world celebrates International Women’s Day we take a look at who an Australian expat woman is, where they live, and their motivations for moving overseas.

With one Australian resident leaving Australia to live overseas every 1 minute and 49 seconds the Australian diaspora would fill Canberra, Wollongong, Hobart and Darwin.

 

The Face of a Female Australian Expat

 

Atlas Wealth Management’s 2018 Expat Insights Survey shows that the previously conceived idea of who an Australian female living overseas was couldn’t be further from the truth.

They are smart, hardworking and adventurous. This is far removed from the antiquated view that all expat women are trailing spouses.

In fact, only 10% of respondents indicated that they have taken on the role as an expat housewife.

 

Expat Educationexpat woman education

 

Australian women living overseas are highly educated.

60% hold either a bachelor’s degree (30% of respondents) or a post graduate degree (30% of respondents).

The high degree of qualifications should not come as a surprise when you take into account that the two most popular job sectors that Australian expat women work in are the Education and Health sectors, which both require an undergraduate or higher qualification.

 

 

 

Expat Motivation expat woman motivation

 

There are a myriad of reasons why people move overseas, and Australian women are no different.

The most popular response was to find a new challenge (24%). This reason isn’t just quarantined to Australian woman either as it was the most popular choice amongst Australian males as well.

The second most popular choices shows what a multi-cultural world we live in with 19% responding that they moved overseas because their partner was a foreign citizen.

Partnerships also played a deciding factor too for our third most popular option with 16% of participants saying that they moved overseas because their partner accepted a job. 

  

Expat Destinationsexpat woman destination

 

The United States is the most popular country for Australian women to live (25.84% of respondents). This is also representative across the broader Australian expat community with the US being one of the top 2 destinations for Australians looking to move overseas.

The remaining top 4 countries include:

  • The United Kingdom (16.47%)
  • Canada (6.37%)
  • France (4.21%)
  • The United Arab Emirates (3.97%)

Australian women are a well-traveled group as we received responses from expats in 57 countries.

 

Expat Employmentexpat woman employment

 

Over 50% of Australian women overseas work in either a full-time capacity (45%) or are self employed (12%).

When asked about their career prospects the survey participants had this to say:

  • 23% of female respondents said that there was the potential to earn more than Australia
  • 19% said that their adopted country was a good place for those who want to progress their career
  • 15% said that it was easier to progress their career in their adopted country than when they worked in Australia

 

 

Expat Job Sectors expat woman job sector

 

The Education industry was the most popular sector for working expat women with 22%.

The second and third most popular sectors for Australian expat women to work in where:

  • Health sector (12%)
  • Hospitality & Travel sector (9%).

Australia expat women work in a wide variety of jobs and we counted responses from 24 different sectors. Some of the less traditional sectors included:

  • Military
  • Agribusiness
  • Mining & Energy
  • Construction

 

Financial Planning Tips for Australian Expat Women

 

With a relocation overseas comes the opportunity to earn and save more. In the 2018 Expat Insights survey 41% of female respondents said that they were able to save more and 46% said that they had more disposable income.

Here are our top 3 tips for expat women to make the most of the move:

  1. Budget before you move – if you are moving to a new country where you will have a higher disposal income than when you lived in Australia make sure your lifestyle doesn’t adjust to your new salary.
  2. Seek advice – the rules and regulations surrounding expats are rapidly changing. Work out how a move overseas may affect you financially BEFORE you jump on a plane as you can’t make changes after the fact.
  3. Make sure you have something to show for your time away – a lot of expats move overseas and have great photos and stories to tell about their adventures, but their bank balance is either the same or worse on their return. Ensure that you save whilst you are away because more than likely you won’t be receiving superannuation payments from your employer which means you aren’t putting away 9.5% of your salary.

 

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