Brief State Policies for Women Veterans

History of Women in the Military 

During the Revolutionary War, many women served informally as seamstresses, water bearers, nurses and cooks. Others fought alongside their husbands or operated as spies for the cause. When the Civil War began in 1861, thousands of women volunteered as nurses and hundreds more dressed as young men and boys to fight on the battlefield. Despite widespread participation, women did not serve formally in the military until Congress established the Army Nurse Corps in 1901.

Female presence in the military increased exponentially during World War II. More than 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Corps, the Women Airforce Service Pilots and other units. They drove trucks, repaired airplanes, operated radios, analyzed intelligence and much more. Approximately 543 military women died in the line of duty and 84 others were held as prisoners of war.

In 1948, the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act granted women permanent status in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy. With the exception of nurses, women could not previously serve in the regular and reserve forces during peacetime. Though the law was viewed as a step forward for women in the military, it also imposed a 2 percent cap on female enlistment and limited opportunities for advancement. Women remained a small minority of the Armed Forces population until 1967 when the gender cap was lifted. Several laws passed in the 1970s and early 1980s also broadened opportunities for female servicemembers and granted women “veteran” status for the first time. Legislation enacted in 1975, for example, allowed women to enroll at U.S. military academies.

Today's Military Women

Women today make up around 20 percent of new recruits, 15 percent of active duty military and 18 percent of the guard and reserve forces. Women serve in every branch and hold officer positions. Of the more than 280,000 women sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, 44 percent of enlisted and 13 percent of officers have been deployed two or more times.

Although women have long served in combat zones, often under fire, they could not hold official combat positions. This changed on Dec. 3, 2015, when Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that the Pentagon would open all combat jobs (about 220,000) to women with no exceptions. Still, the secretary stressed that every servicemember would have to meet the standards of the jobs they wished to fill.

Just as the number of women in uniform has been growing, so too has the number of veterans. Of the almost 19 million veterans in the U.S. today, 8.4 percent are women. Women are the fastest growing group of veterans treated by the V.A. (double the number before 9/11) and projections show they will make up 20 percent of the total veteran population in the next 30 years.

The District of Columbia (14%), Virginia (13.6%) and Alaska (13.3%) have the highest percent of veterans who are women. Texas, California, Florida, Virginia and Georgia have the highest total number of female veterans, in that order.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Profile of Veterans: 2016 

Unique Challenges

The transition from military to civilian life varies for each female veteran just as it does for male veterans. Though many women reintegrate with ease, others may struggle either initially or months down the road. Challenges may be related to employment, housing, health and mental health, education and other factors.

Employment

A key component of a successful transition for both men and women is the ability to find a stable, satisfying job. While the unemployment rate for all veterans has been lower than that of non-veterans in recent years, unemployment for post-9/11 veterans has been persistently high. This trend is most pronounced in female veterans who faced a jobless rate of 12.5 percent in 2012. This was higher than the peak for all non-veterans (9.4 percent in 2010) and male veterans (12.0 percent in 2011). In 2017, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.7 percent for all veterans, lower than the general population. But at 4.5 percent, unemployment for post-9/11 veterans remains higher, and highest among female veterans at 5.5 percent.

Veterans often experience long delays in obtaining civilian employment even when they have transferable skills gained through military education, training and experience. For many veterans, the search for civilian employment marks the first time they have prepared a resume or participated in an interview. This is particularly true for female veterans who, according to the 2015 Veteran Talent Index, may not feel as confident as their male counterparts in their skills and ability to find a job. Other factors such as marital status, education level, motherhood and health problems may also play a role.

Housing

Female veterans are the fastest growing segment of the homeless veteran population. While the exact number of homeless female veterans is unknown, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires an annual count of homeless people in communities across the country known as the Point-in-Time Count. On a single night in January 2018, volunteers identified roughly 40,000 homeless veterans. Of those, 9 percent were women. From 2016 to 2017, the number of homeless female veterans increased by seven percent, compared with one percent for their male counterparts.

Overall, female veterans are up to four times more likely to become homeless than women who are not veterans. Five experiences have been identified as pathways to homelessness among female veterans. These include childhood adversity; trauma or substance abuse in military service; post-military abuse and termination of relationships; post-military mental illness or medical issues; and unemployment. These factors, combined with a lack of social support and sense of isolation, can make it more difficult for women to readjust to civilian life.

Health

Many of the women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan experienced unprecedented levels of combat exposure and returned with specific health care needs, such as traumatic brain injury, back pain, migraines, dizziness, respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal issues and other unexplained symptoms. Female veterans also report significant mental health challenges, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, suicide, substance abuse and sleep disorders.

More than 50 percent of women who served post-9/11 have utilized mental health services at VA facilities. The most commonly diagnosed condition is post-traumatic stress, effecting 20 out of 100 women. Some symptoms are more common in women than men. For example, women are more likely to feel jumpy, disconnected, depressed and anxious, while men may feel angry and turn to alcohol or drugs as a coping mechanism.

Aside from post-traumatic stress, the staggering rate of suicide among female veterans is a major concern. Women in the military commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women, according to VA research covering 11 years of data. Rates of female veteran suicide rival those of male veterans, despite the fact that men are generally far more likely than women to take their own life. Suicide has been the second leading cause of death among U.S. servicemembers since 2010.

State Action

State legislatures across the country are recognizing the contributions of female veterans and developing programs to address their specific needs. At least 28 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have enacted legislation to establish a female veteran program, designate a commemorative day or month, or provide for special license plates. A number of other states are considering bills in the current legislative session. See the charts below for a citation and summary of each law.

At least 15 states—California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas—have established a female veteran program or division or named a female veterans coordinator to oversee state benefits and services.

The Indiana General Assembly enacted legislation in 2014 (Senate Bill 354) creating the Hoosier Women Veterans Program within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The program has multiple purposes including performing outreach to improve awareness of state and federal benefits; assessing the needs of female veterans; reviewing programs and other initiatives designed to meet these needs; and making recommendations to the director of veterans affairs. Visitors to the program’s website are encouraged to join a registry used to connect female veterans to various resources and benefits to which they are entitled. Indiana also has a full-time female veterans coordinator and has held a conference for female veterans every year since 2007.

At least 11 states—Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas— and D.C. offer a special license plate recognizing female veterans. Revenue generated from plate sales helps to fund veterans programs.

Another eight states—Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas—and Puerto Rico have designated either a Women Veterans Day or Women Veterans Month.