public partnerships. And we are very honored today to have someone who knows just a little bit about something about private public partnership, and someone who's incredibly passionate about making sure that Americans from all backgrounds have the right skill sets to succeed. Please join me in welcoming the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden.
So thank you, Eric. And you know, it's so great to be back with the chamber. Again, so I'm so proud of the work that you've done with that we've come with you in Hiring Our Heroes for gosh, almost a decade now, I think. And I can't wait to see what we're going to continue to do together. So, in fact, I want to thank everyone here. Because just by showing up, you're showing that military families matter and that you are committed to making progress to them. So today, we end it's too complicated. Today, we end we don't know. Today, we are coming together to say our military spouses deserve as much commitment from us as they give to us. And for 10 years, we've made progress in many areas and God you've done a great job, hiring veterans and educating schools, about our military kids and raising awareness about caregivers. But when it comes to military spouse, unemployment, the needle doesn't move. And I see a lot of you shaking your heads and, you know, actually, it's gotten worse. Today, it's more than seven times the national rate. And why, you know, why is that? What I've heard from organizations is that military spouses resumes don't clearly reflect their qualifications. And that military spouses leave jobs too often, that organizations can't maintain their culture if they 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. But for a moment, I want you to imagine a spouse on a vase. She's self assured and accomplished with not one but maybe two master's degrees. She tells you how proud she is of her husband serving on a ship in the Pacific. And she knows that what she's doing matters. But the more she talks, the more you can see the cracks. In her confidence. She tells you that she wore her best suit because she never gets a chance to wear it anymore. She misses her work. After months of applying to jobs with no luck. She's ready to take anything after all. There are bills to pay. But it won't be the career she's worked so hard to build. She's not complaining. But you can see the sadness and the frustration that she doesn't voice You know, I've heard this same story more times than I can count. And change isn't easy. But then neither is moving again and again to a new base. Neither is parenting while your partner is deployed. Neither is losing sleep, worrying that the person you love most in the world might not come home. And that's what our military spouses do every single day. They do it even when it's hard they do it for us. Meanwhile, their husbands and wives question how long they can serve this country when their spouse is unhappy or feels under the hill. 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. And that's why supporting military families is critical to our national security. Joining Forces my White House initiative that serves our military and veteran families, caregivers and survivors was founded on that principle. In September, we announced that every executive department across the federal government has committed to joining DoD Military Spouse Employment Partnership to recruit hire and trained military spouses. But we need your help. And I have to say when I was doing the photo line, so many of the companies here so many of the people I spoke to told me really what a wonderful job you many of the companies are all ready to me and I really do applaud you. And I really do feel this issue from the heart because I am a working spouse and I know what it means to work all those years to get your degrees to get your credentials and then not to use it at all.
It doesn't make sense. You know, all of you have worked so hard to get our veterans hired. Today, their unemployment rate is below the national average. We need the same focus and dedication for military spouses. And it starts by creating flexible, transferable remote work opportunities for families. remote work means mom or dad doesn't have to start over every duty station and it means that you can keep skilled, talented experienced workers even if they are relocated. It's not as small and I know that but there are organizations. Some of you here today, like I said, that are really making an organ you're doing a great job. If we've learned anything from this pandemic, it's how to be creative. So, let's be creative. Now. This is possible, and it's profitable. Because 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. And they are lawyers to tap into the power of this dynamic group and you are tapping into the best of the best. So what can you do? How can you create a culture where military spouses have what they need to thrive? Join the Military Spouse Employment Advisory Council invite your colleagues to join as well. Spread the word and share best practices. As you know, Hiring Our Heroes is deeply committed to this cause and they're here to help for 10 years, so many have asked, How can we afford to make this work? But the question should be how can we look at the sacrifices that our military community makes and do anything less? How can we tell those spouses that this is too difficult? We can't we love 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 heard. Thank you for what you're doing. We appreciate it. Thank you