Last February, MOAA and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veteran and Military Families (IVMF) released the Military Spouse Employment Report.
The overarching objective of this research project was to evaluate the cumulative economic impact on Armed Forces spouses who may be unable to sustain employment due to Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves, licensure constraints, and lack of career enhancing opportunities.
Key Finding from the report included:
- The 2012 unemployment rates for female armed forces spouses were almost three times higher than their civilian counterparts
- Armed forces female spouses made 38% less than their civilian counterparts
- 90% of the employed female respondents are under-employed with respect to education, experience or both
Military spouses were not surprised by the results. Many told us it validated what they already knew: unemployment was high and we often worked for less doing jobs far below our skill sets. Despite some excellent programs from the Department of Defense, spouses told us they were struggling with employment.
As Military Spouses and family advocates, we understand and have personally confronted many of the challenges of maintaining a career while being married to the military.
We have heard your stories– we get it and we have lived it too!
So, our next task was to educate the lawmakers.
On to Capitol Hill
In March the MOAA Spouse Team traveled to Capitol Hill to present the research results to congressional staffers representing the offices that make up the Congressional Military Family Caucus.
The House FY 2015 Defense Bill
In May, citing the results from the MOAA and IVMF Military Spouse Employment Report, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash) and Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-Georgia) co-chairs of the Congressional Military Family Caucus introduced an amendment to the FY 2015 Defense Bill calling for improved data collection on the efficiency of the DoD programs addressing the employment challenges faced by military spouses. According to McMorris Rodgers, improved data collection will “allow us to address the complex challenges of military spouses’ employment.”
The Law
MOAA was pleased this amendment was included in the final defense bill. The results of the 2013 Military Spouse Employment Report demonstrated an urgent need for a concerted effort to reduce the numerous employment challenges facing military spouses, especially unemployment and underemployment.