Not every accompanying partner of an American diplomatic employee has the same access to employment and professional identity, or to many of the benefits and protections of US citizen Eligible Family Members. Non-citizens and spouses or partners designated as “members of household” struggle even more with maintaining their careers at post. Even at posts that have bilaterial work agreements (which permit diplomatic spouses to work on the local economy), non-US citizens are often not eligible for those work permissions, in addition to being ineligible for many positions in the embassy or consulate.
In this episode, Lauren interviews a first tour accompanying partner at a post without a work agreement. Helene struggled with the challenges of leaving behind a professional and creative career as well as the limitations on consulate jobs because she is not currently a US citizen. In doing so, she found two new professional identities: Employee Association Manager and Bagel Queen.
About Helene:
While sheltering in place in NYC during 2020’s first Covid wave, Helene and her husband learned that he was admitted into the Foreign Service. A few months and a totally remote on-boarding process later, they were on a plane headed to Guangzhou, China.While neither of them were strangers to living in China, Helene quickly found that this would be a totally new experience for her. With no avenues to work on the local economy or in any capacity at the consulate, she started baking bagels to occupy her days and bring a piece of NYC to her breakfasts. When word spread, she started a bagel business, then got involved with the American Employee Association where she linked up both activities for a while.
