{"id":69214,"date":"2023-12-07T18:26:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T18:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/12\/07\/jill-biden-helps-launch-new-employer-challenge-for-military-spouses\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:33:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:33:37","slug":"jill-biden-helps-launch-new-employer-challenge-for-military-spouses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2023\/12\/07\/jill-biden-helps-launch-new-employer-challenge-for-military-spouses\/","title":{"rendered":"Jill Biden helps launch new employer challenge for military spouses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Military spouses Katie McCarthy and Monique Street said a new program aimed at providing better long-term job opportunities for military spouses<\/a> could have helped them in their careers over the last 10 years as they moved around with their husbands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new \u201c4 + 1 Commitment: The Formula for Military Spouse Success,\u201d launched Dec. 6, would have provided Street, an Army spouse, with the opportunity for one or more of the jobs she\u2019s had to be more portable, she said. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s not so much the difficulties with finding a job as it is in keeping a job, due to frequent relocations<\/a>,\u201d she told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A job\u2019s flexibility, in terms of hours, remote work and other factors, can have lasting effects on a spouse\u2019s career and the finances of the family<\/a>, Street said. \u201cWe can start to see career progression. There\u2019s such a disparity in career advancement for military spouses versus our service member counterparts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Street, who now works for Blue Star Families, said she always wanted a career in financial wellness, but the demands of the military life meant it took longer to get her accreditation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spouse unemployment has remained stubbornly at above 20% for more than a decade, and the Defense Department and the military services<\/a>, as well as a number of private organizations have worked to provide more opportunities for spouses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 4 + 1 Commitment was launched at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. as part of the Blue Star Families\u2019 Do Your Part campaign, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation\u2019s Hiring Our Heroes. The effort is in partnership with the Defense Department\u2019s Military Spouse Employment Partnership. Twelve companies have already signed on, agreeing to commit to at least one of four policy changes. The goal is to have 1,000 companies signed up by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the job portability\/transferability, the other military-spouse-friendly employment policy change commitments are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Offering remote or telework<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Offering flexible work hours<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Providing paid Permanent Change of Station leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201c+1\u2033 commitment is to consider joining existing government spouse employment programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katie McCarthy, a Navy spouse, said having that level of flexibility is significant, as well as other aspects such as the PCS leave. \u201cThat\u2019s huge, \u201cshe said, because of responsibilities such as getting kids enrolled in school, packing and unpacking the house, finding child care, and host of other tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs individuals, as a woman, as a mom, we\u2019re already faced with so many hurdles getting and keeping employment. Adding being a military spouse into the mix is an additional hurdle,\u201d McCarthy said. So working for a company that can allow flexible work schedules, is a big plus, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCarthy and Street introduced the guest speaker for the event, first lady Jill Biden. She described the spouse story she has heard over and over: the young military wife juggling young children, holding it together while the husband is deployed, trying unsuccessfully to find a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI meet her and spouses like her everywhere I go. Lawyers and lab techs, teachers and accountants. The husband who feels like he\u2019s lost his purpose,\u201d Biden said. \u201cWe don\u2019t just need spouses to have jobs. We need them to be able to keep those jobs, and turn them into careers\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She challenged those in the room to talk to other companies and urged them to commit to this effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChange isn\u2019t easy. But neither is moving to a new military base, again and again. Neither is parenting while your partner is deployed. Neither is losing sleep, worrying that the person you love most in the world might not come home,\u201d Biden said. \u201cThat\u2019s what our military spouses do every do every day. They do it even when it\u2019s hard. They do it for us. And we owe them the same devotion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathy Roth-Douquet, co-founder and CEO of Blue Star Families, described the commitment as an effort \u201cto stave off a national security crisis,\u201d adding that \u201cit\u2019s a crisis that snuck up on us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional workplace conventions need to change, Roth-Douquet said. \u201cOne of the top reasons that people who are otherwise promotable say they\u2019ll leave the military is because of spouse career challenges. And the top reasons for military families no longer recommending [military] service, is that military lifestyle challenges prevent a second income and lead to financial hardships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military spouses \u201cpresent an incredible workforce opportunity for American business,\u201d said Eric Eversole, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of Hiring Our Heroes. \u201cThey\u2019re incredibly well educated, they\u2019re resilient. They understand how to get the job done no matter what. Make no mistake about it. Hiring military spouses is not only a great business decision, but it\u2019s also critical to our national security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t