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The 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.

• Veterans are predominantly White.
• Women veterans are more educated than their male counterparts.
• The proportion of women veterans that are employed (61 percent) is not significantly different from that of women non-veterans (59 percent) and male veterans (63 percent).
• Similar to women non-veterans, the primary reason women veterans give for not being in the labor force is to take care of their home or family (37 percent). The second most common reason for women veterans is being ill or having a disability (27 percent), while the second most frequent reason for women non-veterans is going to school (22 percent).
• Women veterans, with a median annual wage of $36,900, have higher earnings than women non-veterans, at $27,300.

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.

Research Gaps

• Causal analysis would be needed to explain factors that underlie the labor market outcomes of women veterans. Additional data such as the longitudinal Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) could be used for future analysis. In addition to a more rigorous analysis of employment outcomes, it may also be valuable to study the presence and magnitude of wage differentials between women veterans and women non-veterans, as well as between women and male veterans. A rigorous, causal analysis using econometric methods such as propensity score matching would be crucial for better understanding wage differentials. (page 73)

Citation

Garasky, S., Nanda, N., Shetty, S., Ampaabeng, S., Techapaisarnjaroenkij, T., Patterson, L. (2016). IMPAQ International. Women Veteran Economic and Employment Characteristics. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.