Spouse Employment - The Challenges
Although the number of
male military spouses is growing, the majority of military spouses are
female. Based on a variety of studies conducted by
RAND Corporation
between 2002 and 2007, the average military wife is more likely to be a
racial and ethnic minority, be a high-school graduate or have some
college experience, be younger than her civilian neighbor, have young
children (less than six years old) at home and live in a metropolitan
area.
Regardless of gender,
military spouses are also more likely to be unemployed and earn less
than their civilian counterparts. According to the RAND studies, military spouses earn an average of $5,500 to $7,400
per year less than their civilian counterparts, and military wives in
metropolitan areas are likely to fall in the bottom 30 percent of all
wage-earners. Military wives’ average hourly wage is three dollars
lower than the wages earned by their civilian look-alikes, and they are
three times as likely to be unemployed.
Although certainly not
surprising, statistics also reveal that military husbands and wives are
also more apt to move farther and more frequently. These frequent,
long-distance relocations are one of the biggest employment challenges
facing military spouses. And not unlike their civilian counterparts,
military spouses are major contributors to their families’
financial security. Finding a job when the family relocates is a high
priority for the more than 55 percent of military spouses who work
outside the home.
Most careers in
the United
States have
specific licensing or certification requirements, many of which vary
from state to state. When forced to relocate, employees in these fields
must recertify their skills, often generating added expenses and lengthy
delays in finding a new job. The associated weeks of lost work and wages
create employment interruptions that make it more difficult for military
spouses to develop a career. To compound the problem, jobs that require
the spouse’s skills may not exist near the new duty assignment,
compelling her to accept a series of different jobs, rather than
advancing through the stages of a specific profession.
Recurring moves also
create employer bias against military spouses in some circumstances.
Employers are generally wary of applicants who have gaps in their
employment history or appear to have bounced from job to
job. They are also
understandably reluctant to train or otherwise invest in an employee if
it’s a pretty sure bet she won’t be around long enough to
generate a return on that investment. Military spouses are often offered
a lower wage or a position for which they are overqualified, because
employers believe there is a greater chance it will be
accepted.
“Some employers
just don’t get it,” says Deb Kloeppel, president and CEO of
the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN), a non-profit
program dedicated to providing career opportunities and job portability
for military spouses. Kloeppel contends a military spouse may be a more valuable
employee because of those frequent moves.
“Many employers, particularly those unfamiliar with the military
lifestyle, don’t understand the flexibility and crisis management
skills most spouses must develop to simply survive in this
environment.”
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