Data Brief: Women Veteran Entrepreneurs, Institute for Veterans & Military Families, 2021
“This brief provides highlights from the 2020 National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs focusing on female veteran entrepreneurs. These findings are based on the data collected from 432 female veteran entrepreneurs, which represents 27% of the respondents that answered the gender question of the 2020 survey. This study monitors trends in the activity, needs, and economic, social, and policy barriers of military-affiliated entrepreneurs in the United States.”
Key points include:
- 48% of female veteran entrepreneurs started a business because they wanted to help society and support their communities
- 48% of female veteran entrepreneurs were turned down by lender or creditor when applying for financing
- 59% of female veteran entrepreneurs feel that the military has prepared them for their business challenges associated with COVID-19 pandemic
Women in the Military: Transition, Employment, and Higher Education After Service, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, March 2020
“This infographic provides key highlights on women in the military. The information in this document comes from our various data collection efforts centered on transition, employment, entrepreneurship, and higher education… Women in the Military Populations… Community Connectedness… Earnings… Entrepreneurship… Educational Attainment…”
Key points include:
- 33% of female veteran respondents reported it took less than 3 months to find employment, compared to 41% of male veterans
- 54% of female veteran respondents did not feel prepared to navigate resources in their local community, compared with 35% of male veteran respondents
- Average earnings of female veteran respondents was $56,760, compared to $44,571 for female nonveterans
Veteran Women & Business: A Data Resource, National Women’s Business Council, November 2017 (PDF)
“Veteran women-owned firm increased 294.7 percent in number from 2007 to 2012. During the same time period, the number of non-veteran women-owned firms increased by 23.4 percent… This report develops a profile of the veteran women business owner through the presentation of business and business owner characteristics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 and 2012 Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons and 2015 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs… It is not meant to be all inclusive but, rather, to highlight the current landscape of veteran women-owned firms based off of publically available data…”
Key points include:
- Veteran women are outpacing their non-veteran counterparts in terms of launching new businesses… However, veteran women-owned firms continue to bring in lower receipts than non-veteran women-owned firms.
- Women-owned firms often experience challenges with access to capital. Research has demonstrated that compared to men, women-owned firms start their business with nearly half as much capital as men.
- On average, compared to their male counterparts, veteran women business owners tend to be younger. Nearly half of all veteran male business owners were 65 years or older while only 10.5 percent of veteran women business owners were the same age.