Women have fought for and won bigger roles in the U.S. military in recent years, but a gap favoring their male counterparts emerges yet again when active duty ends and the civilian job hunt begins. Women veterans are more than twice as likely to be unemployed six months after completing their service than male veterans, says research from Penn State University’s Transitioning Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI). Beyond that first six months, TVMI has found that 61% of female veterans who want a job in the private sector are either unemployed or underemployed, meaning they find themselves stuck in a lower-skill job or receiving less pay than their military experience might suggest they deserve.
It’s a challenge that will persist without acknowledging first, that the problem exists, and further, that the gap needs to be addressed right as women emerge from their service. That’s because while the size of the nation’s military has remained steady, active duty and veteran women now make up a larger and growing percentage of that total. Further, the gaps in job matchmaking are especially troubling during a time for a low U.S. unemployment rate below 4%. What is clear is the burden to close the post-service gender gap lies in part with the companies expanding their workforces, say e …
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