Women Veterans: Out of Service, Out of Work? Part 1

I’d like to start of this post by sincerely thanking all those who have started following and have liked or shared our postings. As with anything, we know that you have a choice in what you read and the fact that you have chosen to take the time to follow us is not lost on us. In our last article, we hinted at the issues that women veterans are facing. In this post, we wanted to delve into one in particular that we have fixed our sights on helping to alleviate: Unemployment.

Making the transition into civilian employment after serving in the military is not easy, but some will tell you that it is a lot harder than they had been expecting. While both men and women veterans have been dealing with the issue of unemployment, the rate of unemployment for women has been higher than it is for men. The fact is that women veterans are 4 times more likely to have financial difficulties and end up homeless than their male counterparts. According to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately a little over  1.8 million women veterans.*  In terms of percentages, this represents about 8.6% of veterans as a whole, a number which has risen considerably since 2002 when the percentage was 6.4%. Considering that the number of male veterans is visibly larger one would think that the number of unemployed veterans would be smaller than that of men, but the opposite is actually true.

If we look at the graph below, we can see that in 2011 the number of male and female veterans who were unemployed were very close with just a  0.4%  higher unemployment rate for women. However, in the following year, we saw a drop in unemployment for the men, while for women not only did we not see a drop, but in fact there was a slight increase of 0.1%.

Statistics on Unemployment for male and female veterans

   

I think part of the issue is the fact that women veterans, for all their hard work and service, are still not being viewed in the same light as their male counterparts. Male veterans, for the most part, return home after service to find themselves greeted as heroes and given the respect that befits that title. Women veterans, on the other hand, do not receive the same praise as men do and at times, are not even viewed or thought of as being veterans. The importance behind this observation goes beyond simply complaining about the lack of recognition and respect that women veterans receive. It brings into question the perception that the public (potential employers included) have in regards to male and female veterans. The high level of recognition and respect given to male veterans for being heroes makes employers more likely to want to hire a male veteran out of respect for their service to our country.  It’s not so much a sense of hero worship that occurs, but more so a sense of wanting to do something to pay them back for their service.

  In the case of women veterans, we find this level of recognition and respect missing, and so there is less of an inclination to feel the need to act in a similar manner when it comes to women veterans. At the end of the day, this view only further seems to fuel and encourage the “old boys club” type of mentality that women have been dealing with since they entered the military. I have read quite a number of stories of women who have applied for positions where they are more than capable of performing the job and have all the requirements that are being sought for that position, but they have been passed up because the employers have wanted to hire a man. This is not to say that this occurs every single time a woman  veteran applies for a position, but it should be noted that it does occur and, as such, is a problem that is deserving of our  attention and further consideration when discussing the issues women veterans face when seeking employment.

This disparity in the way that male and female veterans are viewed is something, that as I pointed out in the previous article, can be seen in daily occurrences. There needs to be a change in the way the public at large views women veterans and the role they play in our military. It is disheartening to know that these women go out and fight for our country, amid the constant pressure of having to prove themselves capable of doing so while in service, only to come back and deal with further skepticism as to their actual contributions.

Women Veterans Vs. Non-Veteran Women

The issue is not only limited, however, to the difference between male and female veterans. In researching the issue, we found that not only was the rate for unemployment higher for women veterans than it is for their male counterparts, but it is also higher than it is for women non-veterans. In the next post, we will be looking at the differences in unemployment rates between women veterans and non-veteran women, as well as the potential factors that are contributing to this difference.

We always love to hear from our followers and would love to hear what you have to contribute to the topic. If you are a women veteran who is dealing with financial difficulties or is unemployed we would love to hear from you. Likewise if you know a woman veteran we would love to hear their story. Please feel free to contact us through the comments or if you’d rather our contact page.

 

 *This information reflects statistics last updated on December 2013.