The Department of Labor (DoL) has a page dedicated to female veterans in the workforce. Nancy Glowacki, an Army veteran and women veteran program manager for the DoL Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) posted her slides on the website with the following information:
Women face disadvantages for many reasons, including the fact that many working-age women veterans are self-identifying as veterans, but are not being identified as veterans by others. One possible reason for this is exposure to women veterans. One in every 11 veterans is a woman, but only one in every 63 women is a veteran. Comparatively, one in every six adult men in America is a veteran. Of note is that studies found that the average unemployment rate for all women veterans is not statistically different from women non-veterans, while unemployment rates are lower for women of color veterans -- specifically African American women.
The slides quote one woman as saying, "My male peers came home from our deployment to be recognized as heroes. I spent a year in combat to come home to a nation debating whether or not women should be in combat."
The VETS program works behind the scenes to ensure that issues disproportionate to women are considered in veterans' employment services. According to the site, female veterans who used the DoL's free employment services are hired faster and earn more money than non-veteran women using similar services. As an example of one of their recent successes, VETS made a policy change to make intensive employment case management services available to veterans fleeing domestic violence.
Tips for ways to improve the conditions for female veterans includes encouraging women veteran advocates to teach what they're doing, so that what they are doing becomes standard operating procedure among all programs that serve veterans or serve women.
Lawmakers should be encouraged to support female veterans by ensuring that the U.S. Code that governs all federal veterans programs is inclusive of issues considered to be disproportionate to women. Furthermore, everyone should become familiar with the employment services available to female veterans and make referrals as needed, and view the VETS website.
On the site, you can also find the following infographics/fact sheets:
- Women as Share of State Veteran Population (Fact Sheet)
- Women Veterans (Fact Sheet)
- Prepare | Provide | Protect | Promote: DOL Supports Veterans
- DOL VETS Programs (Fact Sheet)
Find the Right Veteran Job
Whether you want to polish your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. Subscribe to Military.com to have job postings, guides and advice, and more delivered directly to your inbox.
