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Kelly Wallace of CNN is reporting that the unemployment rate for female veterans who have been discharged since September 11, 2001, was 9.3% in 2013, versus about 8% for male vets, according to a report from the Disabled American Veterans. Wallace writes:
“The difference in unemployment between female and male veterans is even more dramatic when you consider veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: For women, the rate was 11.2% last month, 5 points higher than it was for men, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
“Women veterans are still having a harder time finding jobs than their male counterparts,” first lady Michelle Obama said at a White House event Monday designed to put a spotlight on the issue.”
Some of the reasons for female veteran unemployment is because many women are married to spouses in the military meaning there is a lot of transience, making it difficult to find jobs, stay employed or build an employment history; many women don’t identify themselves as veterans; there are fewer health services in the Department of Veterans Affairs specifically designed for female veterans.
For example, a third of VA Centers do not have a gynecologist on staff, which is jarring since 1 in 5 female servicewomen say they experience some type of sexual trauma.
Currently, 14.5% of the 1.4 million active military members are women.
Read more at CNN.com.
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