Unique Challenges Facing U.S. Women Veterans Reentering the Civilian Workforce

Rebecca Thompson, PhD
SIOP Military Veterans Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee

Despite the many services to support veterans reentering the civilian workforce, few programs address the specific needs and experiences of women veterans. Transitioning to the civilian workforce presents unique obstacles for women veterans seeking jobs, healthcare, and support for family demands. The Veteran’s Administration’s (VA) Women Veterans’ Task Force described the “need for culture change across VA to reverse the enduring perception that a woman who comes to VA for services is not a veteran herself, but a male veteran’s wife, mother, or daughter.”  In addition to the general challenges of transitioning to civilian life, female veterans face many of the same obstacles as other women in the workforce, including pay inequities, disparities in hiring qualified women, and lack of access to policies that support family demands. Pregnancy is incompatible with many military jobs and tasks; many women separate from the military earlier than they might have planned to accommodate life demands. Related to this, women veterans often report expectations to take on family demands with little assistance to find childcare or resources to support meaningful employment.

In addition to the issues facing all women in the workforce, female veterans are likely to also face military-specific needs and challenges for women. All service members may experience trauma or sexual assault while serving; however, women report experiencing military sexual trauma (MST) far more than do men. Data from the VA’s 2018 universal screening report indicated that 29.1% of female veterans reported a history of MST, compared to 1.6% of male veterans. Further, accessing physical and mental healthcare for female specific needs is often a challenge, particularly for rural female veterans.

Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Education Development Center (EDC) led a virtual convening in March 2021 on recruiting and retaining women veterans in the STEM workforce. The participants at the convening identified a clear need for a centralized resource center to serve women veterans. A resource center such as this would consolidate services and facilitate stronger pathways to transitioning to the civilian workforce. Some of the recommended resources identified by the convening include mentoring, expanding networking opportunities, engaging higher education and employers to better attract and retain women veterans, and partnering with key stakeholders such as the Department of Defense to strengthen the pipeline from military to civilian employment.

Industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists can facilitate these efforts in a number of ways. In particular, research is needed examining the experiences of female veterans reentering the workforce, as well as obstacles and pathways to employment. Further, scrutinizing policies and practices that may hinder their transition is an important step to creating a more inclusive work environment. Another important consideration is the need for policies and practices to support family care demands, including childcare, flexible schedules, and creating a family-supportive work environment. Although this issue is prevalent for both veterans and civilians, a larger effort to support caregivers is an essential component to supporting women veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce. Finally, education surrounding the benefits of hiring female veterans is vital. A large effort has been made to raise employer awareness of the benefits of hiring veterans; however, employer awareness and understanding of the specific advantages as well as obstacles for female veterans remains lacking.

The SIOP Military Veterans Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee will share articles in the Source throughout November as part of its efforts to increase workplace resources and their dissemination to support those in the military community (e.g., veterans, guard and reservists, military spouses) employed in civilian settings and employers of veterans.