Impact of Employability and Career development of being a Female Married to a Member of the
British Army Personnel
The paper is focused on the impact that being an ‘army wife’ has on their employability and career
progression. The author has noted that there is very limited data available as the British military do
not keep detailed profiles of the 100,000 military spouses1 in the UK and academic research is very
limited. It is interesting to note that even reports and recommendations on military wives in the UK
have been drawn from America research2 (Finlayson 1969). This paper seeks to begin to address this
and has used, as its foundation, research and data drawn from the field of international human
resource management relating to the experiences of the ‘trailing’ or ‘tied’ spouses (Brown 2008;
Cole 2011; Lauring 2010; Lazarova et al 2010; Harvey 1995 and 1997; Mckinnish 2008; McNulty
2012; Shaffer and Harrison 2001) which seem to align quite closely with the experiences outlined by
some of the ‘army wives’ included in the study. The US military have also undertaken a number of
studies (see for example Nelson, L., Schulker, D., 2010) and there have been a number of
independent academic studies which have been carried out into the impact that a career in the
military has on the employment prospects of their spouses however, a majority of this, as already
stated is based on the US (Grossman 1981; Cooke and Spiers 2005). This study therefore seeks to
redress the balance in data in that it is centred on the UK and recognises that there is a strong
possibility that there could be cultural and demographic differences between the UK and the US
which could have an impact on the findings.
The initial findings from the current study seem to support the evidence which the research above
have suggested in that being married to a member of the military forces has a negative impact on
the employment opportunities and earning capacity of these spouses (Nelson and Schuler (2010).
The data so far indicates that army spouses were unable to construct stable working histories which
in turn inhibited their ability to develop and/or maintain employment or careers. The data also
suggests that these women were ‘handicapped’ in the sense that they tended to accept lower paid
and less responsible jobs as a direct result of them being married to a member of the British Army.
Despite accepting this kind of work the data suggests that this causes a number of problems for
some of these women who feel that they have been disadvantaged within the field of employment
and as such earned less over their careers and ran the risk of reducing/limiting their pensions.
Another factor which seems to impact on the ability of spouses to find suitable employment seems
to be based on their residential addresses. This was also highlighted by Booth et al (2000) and Booth
(2003) who argued that there was strong evidence to suggest that living in close proximity to military
bases reduced the wives ability to gain employment as well as having a negative impact on their
earning potential and career progression.
These initial findings seem to indicate that being an army wife has a range of implications for her and
her family including personal and psychological ones in the sense that many of them felt frustrated
that they were being placed in a vulnerable position within the employment market and that their
career prospects were being restricted. Many also indicated that this in turn had a negative impact
1
www.recruitforspouses.co.uk
Blue Start Families 2013 Military Life Style Survey; Military Spouse Employment Partnership
http://www.co.washington.wi.us/uploadsdocs/VET_MSEPFlyer.pdf
2
1
on their marriages and their mental well being (Lazarova et al 2010; Shaffer and Harrison 2001).
However although interesting and important, this study will restrict its focus on an analysis of the
employment and career implications of being an ‘army wife’.
As indicated above there is relatively little qualitative or quantitative research which has been
undertaken within the British Army with regard to the impact of career progression or even the
employability of the army wife. However, it is an issue which is increasingly appearing within the
British media as the army implements cut backs and restructures to meet the changing military
demands of the country (Wyatt 2013; Adams 1993; The Telegraph 2013). It is also becoming
increasingly important as the army can no longer guarantee a ‘job for life’ and thus the families are
more reliant than at any other period on the possibility of a joint income in order to maintain their
life styles etc (Adams 1993).
Much of the data available at present is anecdotal, although the Families Continuous Attitude
Survey3 does provide some data this must, in the opinion of the author, be developed and improved
if army wives are to realise their own potential as well as effectively contributing to the British
economy.
Wyatt (2013) highlights the problems that many army wives face when seeking employment and
outlines how ‘Recruit for Spouses’ which is an organisation that has recently been established which
actively seeks to work and educate large employers in the benefits of employing these spouses as
well as supporting army wives in their search for employment which matches their qualifications and
experience. Heledd Kendrick who is the CEO of Recruit for Spouses, stated that “I saw a huge pool of
wasted talent because a lot of wives and partners I me were skilled but also finding it very hard to
find work” (Wyatt 2013). She added that many of the wives were ‘forced’ to take work which was
below their skill level because they were married to army personnel. On a positive note though
companies such as BP, EDF Energy and Capita were working with the organisation in order to seek
ways of employing army wives in more effective ways. In fact Kendrick (Hicks 2013) has argued that
in today’s technical age there is no reason why organisations could not employ army wives within a
virtual or remote working environment.
Another aspect that should be considered is the impact that ‘unhappy’ wives have on their
husband’s career and in extreme cases they could ultimately cause their partners/husbands to leave
the military (Nelson and Schulker 2010) which could have implications for the army in relation to loss
of talent and retention. They conclude that a number of factors influenced the behaviour and
‘feelings’ of these women, for example, frequent moves resulted in many becoming demotivated,
feeling that they were now ‘second class’ citizens and that it impacted directly on their self esteem.
This was reflected in the information that has been gathered and analysed to date in relation to the
current study. The data highlights the impact that frequent moves and uncertainty means that
3
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tri-service-families-continuous-attitude-survey-2014
2
wives believe that they lose the ability to offer an employer the consistency that civilian spouses do
and thus are prepared to accept lower skilled and paid jobs. Also the fact that many army
employees work unpredictable hours which puts pressure on childcare etc. which again has
implication for the supporting wife.
The Families Continuous Attitude Survey4 which is conducted on an annual basis throughout all three
sectors of the British military rejects the claim that being married to a member of the British military
has a negative impact on their employability or their ability to progress through their careers.
However, it is important to remember that the data from other two services, the navy and the RAF,
could have shaped the findings inappropriately in the sense that neither to navy nor the RAF are
generally required relocate as frequently as the army and on the whole tend to live in their own
houses and therefore not as ‘stigmatised’ as army spouses.
Generally most of the data indicates that army wives do experience some form of negative impact
directly because of who they are married to. For example, of those who identified having
‘problems’, said they had experienced “some” or “a lot of problems” obtaining paid employment
(60%); 42% had experienced “some” or “a lot” of problems in maintaining a National Insurance
contribution record; 45% had experienced “a lot” or “some problems” with maintaining a
contribution record for state pensions; while 23% had experienced “some” or “a lot of problems”
with being assessed for eligibility for state entitlements upon their return to the UK.
The Military Covenant Task Force report (2010)5 and the Service Personnel Command Paper (2008)6
indicate that the government wish to ensure that “spouses and other family members of Service
personnel receive adequate support ... are not disadvantaged in ... employment due to frequent
moves of home”. Unemployment levels for army spouses are higher than the national average
(FAMCAS 2010)7 but only anecdotal evidence exists to suggest that spouses often take employment
below their skill and education level due to discrimination and an incomplete or fractured work
history compared to their civilian counterparts.
Arksey and Knight (2007: 17) highlight that the official Government reports may not always be
objective and as such have their limitations and thus a heavy reliance on official Government data
should be avoided and a wider investigation of the related literature should be undertaken. For
example, Grossman (1981) suggested that some contributing factors to unemployment among
military spouses was the remoteness of the location of the bases which restricted employment and
career opportunities. She added that frequent transfers between locations inhibited “the
accumulation of seniority or the acquisition of specialised skills. Many wives find that regardless of
former employment experience they must start over at entry level jobs in each new post” (1981:62).
Grossman (1981) and Brown (2008) suggest that the wives believed that they were discriminated
against by employers who viewed them as a ‘short term’ fix.
4
5
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tri-service-families-continuous-attitude-survey-2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-of-the-task-force-on-the-military-covenant
6
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.mod.uk:80/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWe
Do/Personnel/Welfare/SPCP/
7
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tri-service-families-continuous-attitude-survey-index
3
To draw these two areas together the author explored the quantitative survey data available from
the UK military/MOD surveys, however it does not appear to have ‘delved’ into the detail and
feelings behind soldiers and spouses (dis)satisfaction in relation to employment. Nor does it analyse
the connection between retention and spousal careers within the UK army. The US studies, coupled
with US academic journals have recognised that being married to a member of the military does
have a negative impact on their working lives however, they have struggled to ‘prove’ the exact
cause. Links have been made to the civilian literature relating to the ‘trialling’ or ‘tied’ spouse. The
more recent journals have tried to identify links between spouses’ education and employment
opportunities, and retention and reenlistment figures of serving personnel correlated with spouses’
satisfaction with the military and their career options. These resources will be used to help support
and guide the present study.
The US journals have also posited three main ideas – the monosphony situation in military economic
environments, human capital theory, and the household decision model detailed by Wood (1991).
Large scale studies have been carried out in the US looking ‘beneath’ the initial military family
satisfaction data, unfortunately by comparison there is very little academic literature of that detail in
relation to British army personnel at this time.
The study, therefore aims to assess the extent to which labour market participation and career
progression of the wives of army personnel is affected by their husband’s occupation. The study
adopts pragmatic critical realist approach to the collection of data and combines both qualitative
and quantitative methods (Mearns 2011).
The data was gathered in two stages, firstly, a survey using open and closed questions to collect both
qualitative and quantitative data. The questions were based on the literature review and the
secondary data identified in the studies examined. Information was sought in relation to hours
worked, salary and benefits and examples of discrimination. The second is life histories (Musson
2004) from army spouses. These were in-depth semi structured interviews which the author
believed produced a rich and enlightening insight into the working experiences of army wives within
the UK.
The table below highlights that from the data gathered and analysed to date an army wife is twice as
likely to be unemployed and seeking work than the national average as at February 20118 which is a
worrying statistic and raises immediate concern in relation to employability of this group of females.
Another worrying statistic is that 44.1% of army wives were economically inactive which is, again,
much higher than the national civilian average of 23.2%.
8
Office for National Statistics http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0411.pdf
4
Table 1.1
Current Employment Status
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
29%
23%
18%
14%
10%
5%
5%
5%
3%
2%
1%
0%
The preliminary findings of the research project indicate that there is a negative correlation between
being married to a member of the British army and career progression and job/employment
opportunities. Whilst discrimination and employment barriers were generally highlighted the
respondents many perceived this to be directly connected to the fact that they were married to a
member of the British army. There was a strong feeling that things such as their home address
identified them to a potential employer as being married to a member of the British army.
Although a large percentage of army wives were not in employment there was clear evidence that
there was a desire and in some cases a need to work (see table 1.2 below).
5
Table 1.2
Importance of Career and Employment
100%
90%
80%
70%
Very important/important
60%
50%
Neither important nor
unimportant
40%
30%
Unimportant or very unimportant
20%
10%
0%
Need money for Always wanted to Supplement family
basic family
work/have a career
income
expenses
Many of the women who took part in the research suggested that they had encountered some form
of discrimination when either trying to gain employment or while trying to pursue a career due to
being married to a member of the army personnel. However, the author acknowledges that there is
an element of subjectivity in the understanding and analysis of discrimination and it is likely that
being rejected for a job could be based on a range of reasons which are unrelated to being married
to a member of the British army.
It is, however, apparent that some spouses have concluded that who they are married to, their
residential address and their fractured CV has resulted in rejection, discrimination and is a constraint
on their career progression. There was evidence to suggest that some spouses had resorted to lying
in order to gain employment. Some professions, for example teachers, highlighted the constraints
that they felt were being placed on them and to some extent felt justified in telling lies.
“In one teaching job I was denied an opportunity to be taken on as a permanent member of
staff as the employer knew I was a spouse of a serving soldier.”
“Being trained as a teacher in England and now posted to Scotland, I was initially unaware
how different the education system was. My qualifications aren't recognised and when I
arrived here in 2008, I was classed as a teacher from overseas. Many hurdles have had to be
overcome to prove my ability to teach here in Scotland and there are still limited
opportunities for someone like me who lacks experience of the Scottish system when
regular and newly Scottish trained teachers cannot even get jobs. Wanting to further my
qualifications in education, I quickly realised that anything related to my profession would
not be transferable back to England. Frustrating.”
“Never mention the fact I am an Army wife as I know this will affect my position”
6
“Try to not let people know about my husband's job until I am working for them.”
“Have lied on numerous occasions, stated my husband is in his last tour and we are settling
locally, as address gives away military connection”.
Table 1.3
Perceived Impact on Employment and Career Progression
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
The spouses were further asked to identify factors which they felt had had an impact on their
employment and/or ability to progress their chosen careers. Table 1.3 shows the perceived impact
of being the wife of a member of the British army has on their employability and their career
prospects.
45% of the respondents selected “serving spouse away so much it makes it difficult to work”.
Reference was made to operational tours which resulted in spouses becoming effectively single
parents, the author acknowledges that this is not uniquely limited to military personnel however,
combined with living many hundreds of miles from family who could assist with emergency
childcare etc does pose added stressors. When operational tours were not mentioned in the
comments it was other army related commitments such as the frequency of training, Mess
meetings, long hours and military exercises resulting in soldiers frequently being away from home
even when not on operational duty.
In conclusion the findings to date support much of the evidence which has been drawn from the
field of international HRM and the impact on this has on family life especially with regard for those
who become the ‘trailing’ or ‘tied’ wife (Briscoe, Randall and Tarique 2012; Crowley-Henry 2012;
Harzing and Pinnington 2010; Linehan and Scullion 2004) and US research. The data and analysis
from the expatriate experiences is considered relevant and justifiable as they are comparable
situations and many of the feelings expressed are reflected in the ‘trailing’ or ‘tied’ spouse
publications. The analysis of the literature further, considers the social suitability and ‘fit’ of spouses
7
in unfamiliar situations such as in an international environment which was felt again very relevant to
the present study. The conclusions of most of the researchers consider the impact of employment
or lack of employment opportunities on the spouses as well as the potential and real impact on their
future careers to be negative (Copeland and Norrell 2002).
The military based academic literature in the field has been predominantly drawn from American
data. Again the findings indicated that being married to a member of the America military had a
negative impact on employment opportunities and earning capacity of the female spouse (Nelson
and Schulker 2010). The conclusions that were drawn in the literature suggested that this had been
caused by the fact that the women generally moved between jobs on a regular basis and had failed
to build up a stable working history (Nelson and Schulker 2010). For example, the evidence suggests
one in four American military families move across county lines while only one in twelve civilians do.
There was also a strong positive correlation between the distance and frequency of the moves and
the ability of female spouses to obtain and sustain employment. While this clearly had an impact on
the working experience of the females the women also played an important part in their career
development as there was evidence that supported the claim that “knowing that they [were] likely
to move frequently” made them more willing to accept lower skilled jobs on reduced wages with
less career opportunities (Nelson and Schulker 2010). Another contributing factor which encourages
female spouse to accept less secure employment is the unpredictability of their serving spouses
hours and the caring responsibilities of the family. Unfortunately, British researchers have not
undertaken a similar in-depth study so it is difficult to fully contextualise the present one in
comparative data. However, Tri-Service Families Continuous Attitude Survey (FAMCAS)9 conducted
by the Military of Defence have conducted a number of annual surveys which have explored some of
the issues relating to this research project. The FAMCAS (Rogstad and Lowe 2010) survey gathers
data on a wide range of issues which did include some reference to employment issues.
The survey Rogstad and Lowe (2010) undertook suggests that some of British military spouses had
indeed experienced “problems” in obtaining and progressing their careers through paid employment
because of the profession of their husband. The survey also stated that military spouses (42%) had
experienced some problems in maintaining their National Insurance contributions and thus having a
negative impact on State pension entitlements and 23% of the respondents highlighted that they
had had problems when trying to get assessed for their eligibility for various State benefits on their
return of the UK.
The Military Covenant Task Force Report (Strachan, Armour, Healy and Smith 2010) and the Service
Personnel Command Paper (2008) both indicated that the Government wanted to make sure that
female spouses and their families were given adequate support and that they were not
disadvantaged in relation to their employment prospects because they were required to frequently
move homes. Unemployment levels for army spouses are noticeably higher than the national
average (Rogstad and Low 2010). However, the researchers have only been able to identify
anecdotal evidence which suggests that female spouses have often been ‘forced’ to take
employment which is below their skill and educational capabilities because of discrimination and/or
because of an incomplete or fractured work history when compared to their civilian counterparts.
9
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tri-service-families-continuous-attitude-survey-index
8
Common themes which appear to be emerging from the data and the literature seem to indicate
that army wives are disadvantaged in a number of areas relating to their employability and the
chances of career progression. The data indicates that many perceived that even when gain
employment they have to “start again at the bottom of the career ladder” each time that they move
to a different location; that they feel that they encounter much more difficult in insurmountable
barriers to gaining employment than their civilian counterparts; that they are disadvantaged in
accessing employment opportunities as they are “forced” to balance the needs of their families with
their own careers; and that they believe that they are psychologically damaged in the sense that the
negative impact of their employment experiences reduces their self confidence and lowers their self
worth.
Grossman (1981) used the word “stigmatisation” by US employers towards military spouses, and the
evidence in this report show that British military spouses also consider that they are being
stigmatised. This is perceived by many to be based on their home address on their CV, and their
fractured CV’s. Grossman’s identification by employers that they consider military spouses “short
term” was supported by this perception in the UK with spouses resorting to lying to combat
preconceived (and often correct) ideas that they will move on in a few years.
What was particularly surprising was that nearly 38% of spouses reported some form of
discrimination specifically related to being part of the army community in their employability and
career progression.
What was strongly identified in the interviews was the ‘trade off’ that spouses make between their
careers and their serving husbands careers as part of the household decision making model. Each
interviewee expressed recognition of the decision making process, either by determining that their
time would come eventually or that they had even made the wrong decision. This information is
particularly pertinent when considering the retention factors and motivators of serving personnel.
The FAMCAS10 survey highlighted that spouses had problems maintaining accurate records such as
those for the National Insurance for example, between 40 and 50 percent of spouses felt their
records were inaccurate. The women also highlighted the impact that frequent relocation had on
aspects such as company pensions. These factors indicate that when analysing the data, the
financial impact of regularly changing jobs is not as simple as a straightforward salary comparison
with civilians in the same role. Strong evidence in the survey results related to the frequent
instances of these women feeling that they are having to start at the bottom each time a new job is
begun, resulting in frustration, loss of income, and feelings of low self esteem. These factors without
doubt have an impact on the family unit as well as the working life experiences of these spouses.
Despite these negative conclusions it is reassuring that the issues highlighted above have begun to
be recognised and addressed by a number of sources for example ‘Recruit for Spouses’ who are
raising the awareness of employers to the talents and benefits of employing army wives (Wyatt
2013). Organisations such as the Civil Service and the Military of Defence have recently recognised
and are promoting the value of employing military spouses:
10
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tri-service-families-continuous-attitude-survey-index
9
"I would be very happy to endorse this campaign and I am determined that the Civil Service
remains a positive and equal employer of military spouses. The Civil Service has a diverse
workforce that delivers a wide range of functions across the UK and recruits through fair and
open competition with appointments based on merit, ensuring equality of opportunity
regardless of personal circumstances.
We have also recently written to all Departments asking them to do all they can to help
existing Civil Servants who wish to return to their previous department at the end of their
partner or spouse's posting. Each department has its own policies on recruitment and
reinstatement which can be used to positively support these situations. In addition,
departments have been asked to look at access to unpaid career breaks, which is an option
in many departments, and which can allow an individual to maintain continuity of service
with an agreed return date" Sir Bob Kerslake
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, recently awarded this not for profit organisation, the Big
Society Award in order to recognise the work that this group is doing to address the employability
and career development of military wives. Cameron stated:
“The families of our armed forces make extraordinary sacrifices everyday as they support
husbands, wives and partners through deployment after deployment.
The government is doing more to support these families. It’s inspirational to see Heledd
[CEO of Recruit for Spouses] do so much to help thousands of military spouses start or
maintain fulfilling careers.
This work shines a light on the huge range of talent and skills that can sometimes be overlooked amongst military spouses. I’m delighted to be recognising their achievements with
this Big Society Award”.
The paper concludes that Army spouses are disadvantaged within the field of employment and
further that this has emotional and psychological impact on areas such as self-confidence and selfworth. Being married to a member of the British army also had further negative work related
implications, such as loss of earnings and pensions. The paper also highlights that being married to
Army personnel places barriers which make it difficult for these women to find suitable work in the
different geographical locations which they are frequently asked to move to. The evidence also
suggests that this has a similar impact on their ability to develop a fulfilling career and potentially on
their psychological well being.
The author acknowledges that although the early analysis of the data suggests that being married to
a member of the British army negatively impacts on their employability and career progression more
data is required. It is suggested that a higher percentage of army wives are included in the data
gathering process both in relation to the survey as well as the life history interviews. It is also
recommended that the research forms part of a longitudinal study in order to gather data which
could examine impact on pensions, National Insurance contributions and career progression.
10
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