Navigating the Bleak Career Prospects for Military Wives
Millions of women struggle to find full-time work. What more can be done?
I spent my childhood on military bases around the country and overseas. Through the years, I attended more than a few military events, mostly changes of command, a ceremonial changing of leadership for military groups of varying sizes and functions. They are fresh with a military band, slow-marching flag carriers, and all the pomp and circumstance you can handle.
And in each speech, without fail, the new commander gave great thanks to his wife for her sacrifices. Beyond being home alone with the children while he is deployed, many military wives sacrifice their careers (my own mother did).
The sad reality is that — if you are moving every 1 to 2 years, it wrecks your resume continuity and makes it near impossible to maintain a steady corporate career.
As a military family, you don’t find out where you are moving until a few months beforehand — if you are lucky. There are even cases of a few weeks notice which leads to significant strife in the family. It should come as no surprise that divorce rates in military families are nearly double the national average (currently at 4.8% annually versus 2.5% for the general public).
