First Lady Jill Biden on Wednesday called on the nation’s companies to boost job opportunities for military spouses, calling the support of service members' families critical to the strength of the military as a whole.

What You Need To Know

  • First Lady Jill Biden on Wednesday called on some of the nation’s largest companies to boost job opportunities for military spouses
  • The first lady spoke at a meeting of companies like Boeing, Capital One, Carmax, Hilton and Starbucks, all of which serve on advisory councils to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce focused on veterans and military spouses

  • Dr. Biden, a lifelong educator, described how she relates to military spouses as a “working” spouse to a vice president and now president

  • She said military spouses are uniquely qualified because of their adaptability and that supporting military families is critical to national security

The first lady spoke at a triannual meeting of companies like Boeing, Capital One, Carmax, Hilton, Starbucks and the Wounded Warrior Project, all of which serve on employment advisory councils to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce focused on veterans and military spouses.

“This is possible, and it's profitable,” Dr. Biden said Wednesday in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Military spouses are highly educated through long deployments and difficult transfers. They've learned to be adaptable and resourceful. They know the value of organizations that are willing to invest in them.”

She pointed out that military spouse unemployment is more than seven times the national rate.

Dr. Biden also noted how companies are sometimes reluctant to hire military spouses because they move often or have gaps in employment, and some employers are disinclined to allow remote work.

“We all want to make progress in this area, but it requires businesses to make significant changes. And that's not easy,” she said.

Dr. Biden, a lifelong educator, described how she relates to military spouses as a “working” spouse to a vice president and now president. 

She teaches writing part-time at Northern Virginia Community College, where she has taught since 2009, and she is the first first lady to hold a full-time job outside the White House.

The company representatives that met on Wednesday fall under the Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes program and serve on the Military Spouse Employment Advisory Council (MSEAC) and Veteran Employment Advisory Council (VEAC).

Their aim is to discuss recruiting and retaining veteran and military spouse employees, including through remote and portable job opportunities.

The first lady on Wednesday said the hiring of military spouses will in turn boost active duty service members.

“Our military isn’t going to be able to keep our best and our brightest if they have to choose between love of family and love of country,” Dr. Biden said. “Supporting military families is critical to our national security.” 

“How can we look at the sacrifices our military makes and do anything less?” she said to end her remarks. “We will come together with the dedication and resourcefulness and a sense of duty that they show every day and give them the support that they have earned.”

NOTE: Spectrum, the parent company of Spectrum News, is a member of the Hiring Our Heroes Veteran Employment Advisory Council.