The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 W hen I heard that Hillary RodhamClinton had been confirmed as Secretary of State, my first thought was that her ap- pointment would be a turning point for Foreign Service spouses. What better leader to empathize with State Depart- ment spouses overseas, most of whom are women (81 percent, according to the Family Liaison Office) living in the shadow of their husbands’ careers? Due to constant relocation and other difficulties, many have put on hold their own professional ambitions. I was further impressed when Sec- retary Clinton unveiled the Obama ad- ministration’s “New Gender Agenda.” As an economic development profes- sional and Foreign Service spouse, I couldn’t agree more with her state- ments that “women and girls are a core factor in our foreign policy,” that “the transformation of women’s roles is the last great impediment to universal progress” and, most of all, how “the number-one thing most men and women want is a good job with a good income.” As part of her efforts to use these guiding principles to improve women and girls’ lives globally, Sec. Clinton could begin right at home within the Department of State. In the 10 years since I joined my husband in the Foreign Service com- munity, improved family member em- ployment for FS spouses overseas has consistently been one of the top prior- ities of the American Foreign Service Association. Yet it remains far from achieved despite the hard-fought ef- forts of both AFSA and the Family Li- aison Office, which was created in 1978 to improve the quality of life for State Department families and to as- sist family members seeking employ- ment. Today, women have more academic credentials, work experience and for- eign language ability than ever before. According to the FLO office, 38 per- cent of Foreign Service spouses have completed college degrees, and an ad- ditional 37 percent have graduate de- grees. These spouses, eligible to obtain security clearances, are a huge poten- tial source of talent that overseas posts could tap to improve staffing, fill gaps and perform important services. So why are 61 percent of Foreign Service spouses overseas unemployed (and many more underemployed), particu- larly when U.S. embassies report being chronically understaffed, especially during high-turnover season? The Question of Qualifications U.S. missions are the largest em- ployer of family members abroad, with 72 percent of working spouses em- ployed overseas at embassies and con- sulates. My own experience searching for jobs within several different U.S. embassies has led me to a number of observations. The first is that the vast majority of positions available to Eligible Family Members within U.S. posts do not match the professional qualifications, government experience or salary histo- ries of family members interested in working. FLO statistics indicate that 69 percent of spouses working in em- bassies are in support positions, and 62 percent work outside of their preferred career fields while overseas. Many spouses who accept the low-responsi- bility, low-paying embassy jobs avail- able do so because of lack of choice — not because these jobs are career-en- hancing. This underemployment affects long-term family income. When spouses move overseas and accept lower-paid jobs, they interrupt their salary histories, negatively affecting their future earning power. On aver- age, male spouses take higher salary cuts than female spouses; 56 percent of male spouses have salary peaks over Starting the “New Gender Agenda” at Home B Y A MANDA F ERNÁNDEZ S PEAKING O UT Why are 61 percent of Foreign Service spouses overseas unemployed when U.S. embassies report being chronically understaffed?