Women in the Workforce: COVID-19 & Women’s History Month
A guest blog by Freedom Learning Group, a Hire Heroes USA Employment Partner
Women’s history month provides a platform to reflect on women, both throughout history and in our own personal lives, who have succeeded or forged their own paths when faced tremendous adversity. When women’s history is written for 2020 – 2021, the women of today will stand among warriors for the setbacks they’ve faced.
COVID-19 has forced women to leave the workforce in record numbers as, historically, employers are not positioned to offer competitive career opportunities that also allow women to support their families from home. There were 2.2 million fewer women in the labor force in October 2020 compared to October 2019. It is feared that this mass exodus from the workforce will set women back generations. Women with children are seeing the steepest drop of any population as children are in virtual school needing a parent to facilitate and employers are not equipped to provide flexible remote work.
The military spouse population is 92% female. In addition, an estimated 10% of veterans are female. As many female veterans also identify as a military spouse, oftentimes when female veterans leave the service they find themselves confined to the limitations of military family life. Military spouses and female veterans are searching for employers who offer career positions (not just jobs) that allow a flexible schedule to fit the unique lifestyle required of a military family.
Following a PCS to Germany, a Marine Corps spouse saw her successful real estate career disintegrate. This family started a company to shatter the military spouse unemployment cycle and become the employer they were searching for. Freedom Learning Group (FLG) is the leading educational courseware, content and services provider powered by a global remote workforce of military spouses and veterans. FLG’s business model is intentionally designed to fit the needs of military spouses and veterans while keeping them relevant in their respective professional fields with flexible and virtual career possibilities.
FLG provides military spouses and veterans with subject matter expertise the opportunity to reskill and upskill with meaningful employment opportunities wherever in the world they live.
I am a retired Naval Officer and a Military Spouse. As we moved to support my husband’s career, I often had to trade meaningful work for a job while starting at the bottom of a company again and again. With FLG, I am able to stay competitive in my field of expertise even living in a spot with very limited job opportunities. My absolute favorite reason for working with FLG is the flexibility. It allows me to set a strong example for my daughters, as I can strike a work-life balance while supporting my family’s needs.
-Jenna, Veteran, Military Spouse and FLG Subject Matter Expert
The brick and mortar-less company offers career opportunities for every phase of a military spouse or veteran’s career, regardless of where their home office is located. Hired as subject matter experts (SMEs) to support various educational courseware projects for clients in the publishing, education and corporate sectors, SMEs have the freedom to start their own businesses and self-brand as respected masters of their field. Since 2017, FLG has paid out over $4.5 million dollars to military spouses and Veterans.
The stars aligned when I first discovered FLG, as education rings true in my heart. FLG looks for accomplished individuals to provide eLearning curriculum development and my academic leadership background was a perfect match for their needs. I just relocated from Louisiana to Japan without skipping a beat in managing a few teams in content development and accuracy review. I doubt I will ever go back to brick-and-mortar positions because of how perfect FLG fits my lifestyle.
-Stephanie, Military Spouse and FLG Project Manager
As millions of women dropped out of the workforce, FLG continued to grow its workforce based on a model that was specifically built to employ a population that is 92% female through flexible and remote work opportunities while providing quality services to our clients.
FLG is blazing the trail as an industry leader proving that a company can experience tremendous growth and profit while keeping a social mission at the forefront. FLG is challenging other companies to use the experience of going virtual due to COVID-19 as a viable option for their employees moving forward, continuing to provide flexible, portable career opportunities to professional women in the military spouse and veteran communities. Companies, both big and small, need to address the issue of women dropping out of the workforce at unprecedented rates. By creating flexible and remote jobs, employers can break the cycle.
Women’s history is inundated with strong, courageous, resilient and adaptable women. When history books are written about today’s military spouses and female veterans, they will be no exception.
To learn more about FLG or to join the team, please visit freedomlearninggroup.com.