inclusion: Accommodating spouses/partners :
Tips and Tools

Tips and Tools

Couple appointments

Domestic Partner Agreements IITA Community Resources Center IRRI Family Services Center G&D initiatives to support CGIAR spouses/partners Direct appointments Consultancies Fellowships Appointment to advertized vacancies A guide for spouses/partners: what to ask

Couple Appointments

BACKGROUND
1 The conventional approach to spouse/partner employment in the CGIAR has been to concentrate on the appointee first, then to look at the spouse’s/partner’s needs after they have moved to the duty station. G&D is now challenging whether this is the most effective approach in today’s highly competitive market for talented people.

2 There are strong arguments for improvement. The traditional approach creates trailing spouses. Assuming that satisfying employment can ultimately be found for the spouse, either through direct appointments or consultancies, there is still a substantial lag between when the spouse arrives at the duty station and the time she/he commences employment. For a committed professional, a substantial lag equals time lost from her/his career. This breeds discontent, which is precisely what we are attempting to overcome with practices for accommodating spouses/partners.

COUPLE APPOINTMENTS
3 We have a couple of options for minimizing the scale of discontent. One is to attempt to minimize the time lag between arrival and re-entering employment. This is a worthy option but, from past experience, will require major advances in practices to reduce the lag to an acceptable minimum.

4 The other option is to overcome time lag altogether, by arranging the spouse’s/partner’s employment before she/he arrives at the duty station. In other words, aim at employing the couple simultaneously, not in sequence. Hence we have a couple appointment.

5 Is it really feasible to achieve a couple appointment? It is not only feasible, it has already been done in the CGIAR with great success.

GOOD PRACTICE
From “trailing spouse” to Theme Leader – a very successful couple appointment in the CGIAR
A few years ago, a scientist took up an appointment at CGIAR Center A. His wife was also a highly qualified scientist.
Center A provided his wife with a few short-term consultancies, but nothing more substantial. She seemed confined to the status of “trailing spouse”, which was not satisfactory as a long-term outcome for this professional.
The husband subsequently applied for a position at CGIAR Center B. As Center B was several thousand kilometres from Center A, the Director General of Center B took advantage of a visit to Center A to interview him.
The Director General also took this opportunity to interview the scientist’s wife about her background, interests and career intentions. There emerged a good match with Center B’s focus and priorities.
The outcome was a couple appointment to Center B:
• the husband was appointed to the position he had applied for, and
• his wife was also appointed, as a senior scientist.
Two years later the wife was appointed as a Theme Leader.

6 The “good practice” box above shows just one of many “couple appointment” success stories from within the CGIAR. But, there could be many more. The potential has hardly been tapped. There is actually a wide variety of options available, provided that Centers are open-minded and willing to invest the effort. Consider the following box, “Options for spouse/partner employment”.

7 We do not underestimate the effort required to achieve satisfactory employment for the spouse/partner prior to arriving at the duty station. Nor do we underestimate the potential returns on investing such effort. In one stroke the trailing spouse problem is overcome, and the conditions for a successful expatriate appointment are optimized.

Good Practice
Couple Appointments
Among the many options for addressing spouse/partner employment issues, G&D strongly recommends that Centers consider couple appointment as strategic priority number one, whenever a good opportunity presents itself.

© CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program 2006