New York State Minority Veteran Needs Assessment, Center for New American Security, February 2020

“Disparities exist between the outcomes of minority veterans and their nonminority veteran peers. This report assesses the extent of those disparities for women; racial/ethnic minority veterans; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals… Analyzing the circumstances of minority veterans through focus groups, site visits to veteran-serving organizations, interviews with key stakeholders, and publicly available data, this needs assessment identifies: a) the differences between outcomes for minority versus nonminority veterans, as well as between minority veterans and their minority nonveteran counterparts; b) likely causes for identified variations, and c) recommendations for organizations that serve veterans to enhance equitable outcomes across the population. This needs assessment examines outcomes across four life domains: health, housing stability, financial stability, and social functioning… The second section presents the demographics of minority veterans in New York State specifically, and in the United States as a whole… Financial stability summarizes veterans’ overall wellbeing in terms of career, employment, and finances; prominent factors include educational attainment, income, wealth, and unemployment rates…”

Key points include:

  • Veterans are members of American society and are affected by many of the same challenges that their nonveteran peers face. Military service can help overcome many, but not all, structural and institutional barriers that have a disproportionate impact on women and minorities.
  • Black veterans experience unemployment at lower rates than black nonveterans but higher rates than white veterans, and women veterans have higher incomes than women nonveterans but lower incomes than men veterans.
  • Traditional homeless shelters pose barriers to single mothers and LGBT veterans.

Veteran Women & Business: A Data Resource, National Women’s Business Council, November 2017 (PDF)

“Veteran women-owned firm increased 294.7 percent in number from 2007 to 2012. During the same time period, the number of non-veteran women-owned firms increased by 23.4 percent… This report develops a profile of the veteran women business owner through the presentation of business and business owner characteristics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 and 2012 Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons and 2015 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs… It is not meant to be all inclusive but, rather, to highlight the current landscape of veteran women-owned firms based off of publically available data…”

Key points include:

  • Veteran women are outpacing their non-veteran counterparts in terms of launching new businesses… However, veteran women-owned firms continue to bring in lower receipts than non-veteran women-owned firms.
  • Women-owned firms often experience challenges with access to capital. Research has demonstrated that compared to men, women-owned firms start their business with nearly half as much capital as men.
  • On average, compared to their male counterparts, veteran women business owners tend to be younger. Nearly half of all veteran male business owners were 65 years or older while only 10.5 percent of veteran women business owners were the same age.

 

Women Veteran Economic and Employment Characteristics, IMPAC International, LLC, February 2016 (PDF)

“This report profiles the demographic and employment characteristics of women veterans and compares these characteristics to those of male veterans, women non-veterans, and male non-veterans… The American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample, the March Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), and the August CPS Veterans Supplement were used for this report. The data and methodology used for this study parallel other data descriptions of women veterans conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other entities, but there are some differences in the data sources and the samples selected from the data that were required for the study methodology. The profile on women veterans presented in this report is descriptive only and causal analysis would be needed to explain factors that underlie the labor market outcomes of women veterans…”

Key points include:

  • A higher percentage of women veterans are African American (19 percent) relative to the women non-veteran population (12 percent) while a lower percentage are of Asian descent (1 percent) or members of other races (5 percent). A lower percentage of women veterans are of Hispanic origin (7 percent) compared to women non-veterans (14 percent).
  • Women veterans are more educated than their male counterparts. Some 46 percent of women veterans have Associates Degree, Bachelor’s Degree or higher compared to 34 percent of male veterans who have Associates Degree, Bachelor’s Degree or higher.
  • Women veterans are also more likely to have reported some type of disability (20 percent) than women non-veterans (16 percent), but less likely than male veterans (28 percent).

 

America’s Women Veterans, VA National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, November 2011 (PDF)

“Over the past 30 years, women have entered the military in ever-increasing numbers. Ultimately, these women will make the transition from Servicemember to Veteran. In 2009, women comprised 8 percent of the total Veteran population in the United States. By 2035, they are projected to make up 15 percent of all living Veterans. This comprehensive report chronicles the history of women in the military and as Veterans, profiles the characteristics of women Veterans in 2009, illustrates how women Veterans in 2009 utilized some of the major benefits and services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and discusses the future of women Veterans in relation to VA. The goal of this report is to gain an understanding of who our women Veterans are, how their military service affects their post-military lives, and how they can be better served based on these insights.”

Key points include:

  • Women who have served in the U.S. military are often referred to as “invisible Veterans” because their service contributions until the 1970s went largely unrecognized by politicians, the media, academia, and the general public.
  • Women have formally been a part of the U.S. Armed Forces since the inception of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901, but have informally served since the inception of our nation’s military.
  • The end of conscription and the transition to the All-Volunteer Force in 1973 marked a dramatic increase in the opportunities available for women to serve in the military.