Military Spouse Employment

This chapter examines military spouse employment, the business case for hiring military spouses, and barriers to their employment. The unemployment rate among military spouses remains high compared to civilian peers even though their educational attainment, pursuit of employment, volunteerism, and engagement in related professional development activities tends to support a strong business case for hiring them. Also, there is no evidence to suggest that military affiliation negatively impacts success or ability to perform in the workplace. Thus, there is a compelling business case to hire military spouses, but they are often overlooked as human capital resources. This chapter will help human resource professionals learn more about the value of military spouse job candidates and the issues that impact their employment across the human resource life cycle from recruitment to retention.

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Working Around the Military: Challenges to Military Spouse Employment and Education

10.7249/mg196 ◽

2004 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Margaret Harrell ◽

Nelson Lim ◽

Laura Werber ◽

Daniela Golinelli

Keyword(s):

Military Spouse ◽

Military Spouse Employment ◽

The Military

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Life as a Military Spouse

Urologic Nursing ◽

10.7257/1053-816x.2013.33.2.97 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 97 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tracy Eubanks

Keyword(s):

Military Spouse

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A Critical Review of Barriers to United States Military Spouse Education and Employment

Research Anthology on Military and Defense Applications, Utilization, Education, and Ethics ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-9029-4.ch008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 125-147

Author(s):

Crystal Lewis

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Active Duty ◽

Military Spouses ◽

United States Military ◽

Military Spouse ◽

Family Obligations ◽

Education And Employment ◽

The Military ◽

Educational Pursuits

In the United States, there are over one million military spouses. Frequent geographical relocations, the psychological stress and anxiety associated with spousal deployments, and supporting their children as the only parent while their active duty spouse is away leave military spouses disproportionately accountable for all family obligations. Ultimately, these inequities create barriers for military spouses and their employment and educational pursuits. Despite similarities in lifestyle to active duty service members, military spouses are not categorized as an at-risk population and have not been studied in depth. This chapter utilized the source, survey, synthesize method to address the literature gap surrounding the barriers to military spouse education and employment. Findings from the existing literature were synthesized to present the key themes for studies that investigated the military culture, barriers to military spouses' pursuits of higher education, employment, and career advancement and earnings.

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A Study on Military Spouse Licensure Portability in Legislation and Practice

Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning ◽

10.1891/jfcp-19-00007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 209-218

Author(s):

Jaime Ballard ◽

Lynne Borden

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Practice Guidelines ◽

Department Of Defense ◽

Best Practice ◽

Military Spouses ◽

Military Spouse ◽

State Legislation ◽

Best Practice Guidelines

Military spouses face employment obstacles such as relocations, leading to un- or underemployment. The Department of Defense (DoD) proposed three best practice guidelines for transfer of licenses for military spouses. In this study, we (a) reviewed state legislation on military spouse licensure portability and identified how states addressed DoD best practices, and (b) interviewed staff and reviewed websites at six occupational boards of each state. Most states have implemented at least two guidelines, while occupational boards have implemented only some of the legislated guidelines. Thirty-seven percent of boards in states with legislation supporting expedited applications for military spouses did not offer them, and not all accommodations are publicly displayed. Financial counselors should recommend military spouses call regulatory offices about accommodations.

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Honey I Love You, but … Investigating the Causes of the Earnings Penalty of Being a Tied-migrant Military Spouse

Armed Forces & Society ◽

10.1177/0095327x13512620 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 413-439 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

John J. Hisnanick ◽

Roger D. Little

Keyword(s):

Military Spouse

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“Honey, I Want to Be a Surrogate”: How Military Spouses Negotiate and Navigate Surrogacy With Their Service Member Husbands

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x19862843 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (18) ◽

pp. 2774-2800 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elizabeth Ziff

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Service Member ◽

Military Spouses ◽

Structural Constraints ◽

Collaborative Approach ◽

Military Spouse ◽

Everyday Lives ◽

Military Marriages ◽

The Military ◽

Depth Interviews

This article examines how military spouses negotiate the decision to become a surrogate with their service member husband and how the two navigate surrogacy together. It is speculated that military spouses are ideal candidates for surrogacy due to their particular status as a military spouse; however, military spouses face structural constraints in their everyday lives which in turn would prove challenging to their desire to become a surrogate. Based on in-depth interviews with 33 military spouses who had been surrogates, this article examines how military spouses discuss, negotiate, and experience surrogacy with their spouses all the while navigating the structural demands of the military and the contractual demands of surrogacy. Findings highlight egalitarian decision making between the spouses, and a mostly collaborative approach to the surrogacy process. Ultimately, this work illuminates how surrogacy is experienced by the women who participate in the practice and provides insight as to how military marriages function.

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