Female veterans on university campuses, and within the workforce, can be a source of strength and inspiration for other veterans. Yet, female veterans often find themselves as part of an invisible population. After military service, female veterans may blend into the rest of the population, and take on the role of mother, wife, student, caretaker. Their veteran status is oftentimes ignored, unlike their male counterparts who may be more easily recognized and whose service is more readily acknowledged.

After leaving service, the female veteran is often married, or a single parent, carrying full-time or part-time employment while going to college. Coupled with the challenges of the transition process from military to civilian society, women may then face a gender pay disparity and issues with identity within the workforce. More visibility of their impact within higher education and employment spaces is needed.

Women make up about 10% of the total veteran population and 1.5% of the U.S. population compared to male veterans which make up 14% of the population. It is atypical to meet a female veteran and even more so, that she divulges her status. The hypermasculine culture of the military may inhibit the multifaceted nature of the female identity, thus fostering the need to navigate being female and being a veteran out of sight.

Female veterans enter higher education with a complexity of needs and purposes. Notably, this demographic is more racially diverse, younger, and more likely to be in higher education or have a degree compared to male veterans. Nonetheless, female veterans have more issues with poverty and physiological health needs due military service (e.g., chronic pain, injuries).

Some efforts have been implemented to provide female specific services, through the VA and other entities. Nevertheless, many veterans who enter higher education may encounter hardships, due to varying support structures within the university and navigating campus spaces (e.g., financial aid, advising, etc.); other compounding roadblocks may include navigating VA education (e.g., Post 9/11 G.I. Bill) and disability benefits. These support services oftentimes are geared toward the greater proportion of male veteran students, limiting services and resources for female veterans.

Transitioning veterans may benefit from having other female veterans to emulate. A veteran who sees that other women have successfully transitioned from military service into spaces like higher education may be able to adopt the sense that her own transition may be successful as well. For those who are anticipating the same transition, it becomes important to highlight veteran women’s successful transitions for others. Having other female veterans who understand, have lived the same experiences (e.g., navigating male-dominated spaces, mental and physical health conditions, etc.), while taking on familial responsibilities, may be of great comfort and therapeutic value. Further, provision of resources for group interventions that are specific to women may allow for women veterans to learn and support each other through the transition. Peer support allows these veterans to share their successes and experiences; this can help to ease feelings of isolation and defeat during the transition period.

Female veterans make up 13% of veterans in the workforce and are more likely than female nonveterans to hold a degree and to work for the federal government. As more and more veterans continue to transfer military skills to the civilian sector, pursuing jobs that build upon, showcase, and exemplify their military skills becomes of greatest importance. For employers, hiring a female veteran means taking on those with advanced resiliency and team-building capabilities, those who are able to utilize advanced technical training and harbor strong organizational commitment, and garner high levels of trust in the workplace. Valuable to organizational resources is the ability to recognize and act on opportunities to transfer skills learned in one context to another disparate context. Thus, it is often advantageous for organizations to hire veterans.

As such, having opportunities to network with other female veterans to share and acquire strategies on gainful employment becomes more and more important. Providing services that refine veterans resumes, networking abilities, and interviewing skills may help female veterans navigate civilian job opportunities. Efforts by community professionals and higher education administrators to familiarize and ease access to the full range of occupational and educational benefits available to female veterans continues the slow but steady march through veterans’ transition process. Professionals assisting female veterans with gaining employment opportunities may aid in helping them determine which occupational and educational benefits are most applicable to them.

Compared to their male counterparts, female veterans experience higher rates of unemployment; opportunities for vocational trainings which are geared toward strategies for successful employment, topics on gender-specific barriers, and money management should be emphasized. Endeavoring to increase resources available to female veterans not only helps this demographic manage the process but may help to address their unique needs.

Article Topics

Serving Military in HigherEd Veterans Academic Success Women Veterans Workplace Inclusion

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