2021 Employment Situation of Women Veterans (VIDEO)
DOL Veterans’ Employment & Training Service, 2021

“I’d like to show you some comparisons by gender and veteran status, using the Current Population Survey, Annual Averages. I use annual averages because the monthly sample size of women veterans is small and volatile. We’ll start out looking at demographics and why I think these are so important to understand, and then we’ll go into some comparisons of labor force participation, unemployment, and a few other things in both 2019 and 2020.” - Nancy A. Glowacki, DM, Advisor, Women Veterans

Key points include:

  • Among Gulf War II veterans, 47% of women and 39% of men are under 35 years old.
  • Among Blacks or African Americans, veterans have lower unemployment rates than non-veterans.
  • Slack work conditions increased significantly in 2020 as the reason cited for working less than 35 hours a week among women veterans, male veterans, women non-veterans, and male non-veterans.

 

Women Warriors Initiative Report, Wounded Warrior Project, March 2021 (PDF)

Previous Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) research found that women warriors experience military sexual trauma (MST), anxiety, and depression at higher rates than male warriors. To gain a deeper understanding of these issues, WWP developed the Women Warriors Initiative to better understand, empower, and advocate for these women warriors who have served our nation.

Key points include:

  • In many cases, warriors felt unprepared or even unwilling to transition, leaving some with a negative impression of their military service and a reluctance to access or trust Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) resources.
  • Women warriors universally agreed that preparation for civilian careers must begin sooner and cover more comprehensive topics than currently offered by DoD and VA. The TAP sessions women found most productive were those offering resume training and practice interviewing.
  • For those in rural communities, scarcity of providers contributes to inconsistent care. More must be done to increase ease of access to gender-specific health care in rural or underserved communities.

 

2019 Gender and Veteran Demographics (VIDEO) | PPTX | PDF Transcript
DOL Veterans’ Employment & Training Service, 2020

“There are nearly 2 million living women veterans in the United States…Women currently make up approximately 10% of the overall veteran population…Veterans make up 14% of the men in America…but among women in America, only 1.5% are veterans.” 

Key points include:

  • In order to meet 1 woman veteran, you may have to meet 69 women.
  • To meet just one woman under age 35 who has served in the military, you may have to meet 102 women of that age group.
  • The median age of male veterans is 65 years, while the median age of women veterans is 51 years, a difference of 14 years.

 

New York State Minority Veteran Needs Assessment, Center for New American Security, February 2020

“Disparities exist between the outcomes of minority veterans and their nonminority veteran peers. This report assesses the extent of those disparities for women; racial/ethnic minority veterans; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals… Analyzing the circumstances of minority veterans through focus groups, site visits to veteran-serving organizations, interviews with key stakeholders, and publicly available data, this needs assessment identifies: a) the differences between outcomes for minority versus nonminority veterans, as well as between minority veterans and their minority nonveteran counterparts; b) likely causes for identified variations, and c) recommendations for organizations that serve veterans to enhance equitable outcomes across the population. This needs assessment examines outcomes across four life domains: health, housing stability, financial stability, and social functioning… The second section presents the demographics of minority veterans in New York State specifically, and in the United States as a whole… Financial stability summarizes veterans’ overall wellbeing in terms of career, employment, and finances; prominent factors include educational attainment, income, wealth, and unemployment rates…” 

Key points include:

  • Veterans are members of American society and are affected by many of the same challenges that their nonveteran peers face. Military service can help overcome many, but not all, structural and institutional barriers that have a disproportionate impact on women and minorities.
  • Black veterans experience unemployment at lower rates than black non-veterans, but higher rates than white veterans, and women veterans have higher incomes than women non-veterans, but lower incomes than men veterans.
  • Traditional homeless shelters pose barriers to single mothers and LGBT veterans.

 

Women Veterans Report: The Past, Present and Future of Women Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, February 2017

“Since the time of the All-Volunteer Force, the number of women serving in the military has grown. Ultimately, these women make the transition from Service member to veteran. In 2015, women comprised 9.4 percent of the total veteran population in the United States. By 2043, women are projected to make up 16.3 percent of all living veterans. This report summarizes the history of women in the military and as veterans, profiles the characteristics of women veterans in 2015, illustrates how women veterans in 2015 used some of the major benefits and services that are offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and discusses the future of women veterans in relation to VA. The goal of this report is to communicate an understanding of who our women veterans are, how their military service affects their post-military lives, and how they can be better served based on these insights.”

Key points include:

  • The total population of women veterans is expected to increase at an average rate of about 18,000 women per year for the next 10 years. Women veterans currently are and will continue to be an important part of the veteran community and an important part of VA.
  • In 2015, 23.4 percent of all women veterans were currently divorced compared with 12.6 percent of non-veteran women.
  • Overall, women veterans were less likely than non-veteran women to be living in poverty in 2015. About 10 percent of all women veterans and 15 percent of all non-veteran women had incomes below the poverty threshold.

 

Women as Share of State Veteran Population (PDF Factsheet)
DOL Veterans’ Employment & Training Service, 2016

“Women as share of state veteran populations (2016-2025 projections)… Data obtained from "VetPop2014," U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics… Calculations done by U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans' Employment and Training Service, Women Veteran Program.”

Key points include:

  • It is projected that 12% of veterans nationwide will be women by 2025.
  • The state projected to have the largest percentage of women as a share of veterans by 2025 is Maryland (17%).
  • The state projected to have the smallest percentage of women as a share of veterans by 2025 is West Virginia (7%).

 

Women Veteran Economic and Employment Characteristics, IMPAC International, LLC, February 2016 (PDF)

“This report profiles the demographic and employment characteristics of women veterans and compares these characteristics to those of male veterans, women non-veterans, and male non-veterans… The American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample, the March Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), and the August CPS Veterans Supplement were used for this report. The data and methodology used for this study parallel other data descriptions of women veterans conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other entities, but there are some differences in the data sources and the samples selected from the data that were required for the study methodology. The profile on women veterans presented in this report is descriptive only and causal analysis would be needed to explain factors that underlie the labor market outcomes of women veterans…”

Key points include:

  • A higher percentage of women veterans are African American (19 percent) relative to the women non-veteran population (12 percent) while a lower percentage are of Asian descent (1 percent) or members of other races (5 percent). A lower percentage of women veterans are of Hispanic origin (7 percent) compared to women non-veterans (14 percent).
  • Women veterans are more educated than their male counterparts. Some 46 percent of women veterans have Associates Degree, Bachelor’s Degree or higher compared to 34 percent of male veterans who have Associates Degree, Bachelor’s Degree or higher.
  • Women veterans are also more likely to have reported some type of disability (20 percent) than women non-veterans (16 percent), but less likely than male veterans (28 percent).