What's the "typical" trailing spouse like? It’s like asking… what’s “normal”? 

Trailing spouses are a diverse group of individuals located in major centers around the world. They come from various backgrounds and maintain skill sets that never cease to amaze me.

What frustrate me however is to see talented people not being able to utilize their skills and abilities because they can’t find work in their chosen field and as such, settle into another role just to have a job.

Most trailing spouses prefer to be 'employed' but many are adapting this term to encompass a portable career; re-packaging their skills so they can be delivered wherever they happen to be in the world. Telecommuting has facilitated the ability to contribute productively from anywhere, often using the time difference to great advantage, delivering results outside normal work hours. 

Telework still has a stigma attached to it for some organizations, but those that have embraced this new work model report positive results all around. 

Many trailing spouses are starting and maintaining succesful micro-businesses; again, re-packaging what they do into a form that can be delivered 'virtually.

 

Building a profile of the “typical” trailing spouse is a pointless exercise but from various surveys and other anecdotal information we can estimate that:

They are located in:

Region	(approx)
Europe	40%
Asia / Pacific	20%
America’s	20%
Africa / Middle East	10%

They are:

Female	79%
Male	21%

This male/female ratio varies significantly across categories and has been measured as low as 91:9.
 

They are educated; with over 70% holding a degree or higher qualifications.

Only about 35% of trailing spouses work. Of the 65% not working, about 70% want to.

Almost 80% of trailing spouses say they would prefer to work in their chosen field of expertise but often are unable to find work due to their situation.

Collectively, the trailing spouse community is a latent asset to the business community; skilled and talented people, eager to work in their chosen field of expertise and located in major centers around the world. Engaging these individuals may entail ‘non-traditional’ means, embracing telecommuting and other remote work situations, but for companies that can access this resource, the benefits can be rewarding.

Many organizations that relocate their staff overseas or elsewhere ‘in-country’ recognize the cost of a failed deployment and offer some means of support for the spouse in terms of family and employment assistance. Typically however, these support programs are under resourced and often isolated within the employer’s network of contacts.

The motivation for the Trailing Spouse Network (www.TrailingSpouse.NET) is to provide spouses with a common community that they can leverage other resources available to them.

Similarly, the network welcomes the involvement of organizations that recognize the benefits of working with talented people.

 

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