Ivanka Trump is concerned about the welfare of Military spouses. Her biggest concern is their inability to find work or even keeping a particular job. The Trump Administration has realized that these persons have given up on many opportunities.
They have left behind their chance of education and a promising career. Military spouses recently met with Ivanka Trump at the White House. The meeting was in an effort of finding ways to help them.
The majority of spouses of Military personnel are women. They make up about 92% and at least 16% of those women are unemployed.
Some of the employed spouses work part time. They say they prefer full time work. One of the challenges spouses have is frequent relocation. Some move at least 6 times in an 8 year period.
Elizabeth O’Brien moves often and said this “made it quite difficult to be a college basketball coach.” O’Brien is a Military Spouse Program Director at Hiring Our Heroes.
Licensing continuity is another problem these spouses face, because of constantly moving.
American Dream Week
The White House had a program recently. It was called “American Dream Week.” Ivanka Trump appeared at this event. She is a Senior Adviser for the White House. She hosted a discussion on small business owners the day before.
It was a question and answer session with McMahon. Mrs. Trump was present for Kelly swearing-in and a recent cabinet meeting.
Jennifer Korn who is the wife of a Marine said it can be very hard. She said “one of the biggest challenges is, do I leave my career or do I leave my husband?” Korn is the Public Liaison Deputy Director for the White House.
The National Military Family Association offers many opportunities for the spouses of Military personnel. They offer networking and even support for professionals.
Hard Experiences
Kim Lopez recently moved to Utah with her husband. She has 20 years of teaching experience. She says that finding work is difficult to match her qualifications.
“I am having trouble progressing in my field, taking leadership positions, because wherever I go, I start at the bottom. With 20 years of experience, I am lucky if a school district or an employer will take 10 of those as qualified experience. So I am constantly reinventing the wheel,” Lopez said.
Elizabeth Griffin lives in Maryland and is a 13-year Army spouse. Her occupation is a Speech Language Pathologist. She shares the same sentiments as other Army spouses.
Griffin said “It’s difficult when you’re the default parent. You find yourself having to take positions that are more flexible.”
She said “I haven’t been able to take positions that are career advancing, more of, like, a job for two years. I hate to sound like that, but it’s true.”
The Trump Administration has already put steps to help the spouses. The Department of Defense for Military spouses and the Small Business Administration are working together.
They are seeking various ways to help the many men and women who need help. The biggest problem is settling and that requires support of many kinds. Mrs. Trump leads out in this battle to make the spouses of Army personnel feel at home.