The National Military Spouse Network Releases Groundbreaking White Paper on Military Spouse Entrepreneurship, Featuring Recommendations for Eliminating Employment Barriers

LORTON, Va., Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Military Spouse Network (NMSN), the premiere organization supporting the professional and personal growth of the nation's military spouses, today releases its first National Military Spouse Network White Paper describing the positive impact of military spouse employment and entrepreneurship on military families, detailing the challenges faced by career-minded military spouses and providing a blueprint to address them. With the goal of enabling military spouses to have viable portable careers, the report offers five recommendations for removing the barriers to spouse self-employment to help ensure the fiscal and professional stability of military families, aid in active-military retention, and ease the transition back to civilian life.

"Our goal is to be at the forefront in finding solutions for the crisis of military spouse unemployment, which is one of the primary obstacles to financial security for military families," said Sue Hoppin, founder and president of NMSN. "Income instability tears at the fabric of family life and our mission is to support families by ensuring spouses can have the careers they want to help support their families through every stage of their service member's career. Our report provides five key actionable recommendations to institute the most effective, meter-moving results."

The National Military Spouse Network White Paper, written by David Chrisinger, Director of the Writing Program at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy and author of "Public Policy Writing That Matters", provides solutions that will engage internal and external stakeholders, in both the public and private sector, in moving forward meaningful change. Designed to jump start the conversation, the report will inform a series of four invitation-only roundtable discussions held throughout 2019 to develop and put in place viable solutions to military spouse unemployment. Each of the roundtables will focus on one key aspect outlined in the white paper.

With active duty families relocating every two to three years, military spouses who want or need to work face unemployment with each move. In 2012, only 57% of employed military spouses reported working in areas matching their education or training, according to a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) survey.¹

The white paper found that by enlisting the help of various agencies, from military spouse advocates and committed employers to DOD and relevant members of Congress, that the desired change in military spouse employment could be improved. Following are the five recommendations for better understanding and improving military spouse employment:

• Take steps to collect data and report on difficulties, pain points, and lessons learned.
• Reduce unemployment and underemployment by reintroducing legislation to Congress that provides military spouses with a work opportunity tax credit
• Improve transparency and reduce the complexity of seeking employment while being stationed overseas.
• Ensure military spouses are aware of DOD's recent clarifications regarding the operation of small businesses on base so they can make informed decisions.
• Enhance collaboration consistency in the application of DOD's recent clarification on small business operation on military installations.

In addition to the National Military Spouse Network White Paper roundtables, NMSN will host its annual Military Spouse Career Summit in the Washington, D.C. area, October 18-19. The Summit provides educational and developmental opportunities for military spouses to grow their networks, resources and personal brand to advance their careers through a series of discussions, presentations and networking opportunities. The Summit will be preceded by a roundtable discussion, further expanding the discussion.

About National Military Spouse Network
Founded in 2010, the National Military Spouse Network (NMSN) delivers ongoing personal and professional development for military spouses by providing quality content, mentoring, networking opportunities and resources, including a monthly newsletter and free bi-annual digital magazine. NMSN creates a community of military spouse professionals, businesses, academics and media to share expertise and craft innovative solutions on both balancing a viable career with the military lifestyle and laying the foundation for a successful career post military life. For more information on NMSN, visit www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org. Follow NMSN on Twitter at @NMSNetwork or join the Facebook community at www.facebook.com/NMSNetwork.

Media Contact:
Laura Liebeck
[email protected] 
845.440.7974

¹

U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center. 2012 Survey of Active Duty Spouses.

SOURCE The National Military Source Network

Related Links

http://www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org