Equally Valued. Equally Qualified. Equally Served.

The mission of the DOL VETS Women Veteran Program is to make statistical analyses and other research easily accessible in order to inform policy decisions and the national narrative on women veterans. This webpage serves as a repository of both statistical analysis conducted by the Women Veteran Program and links to applicable external research.

Search findings by category.

Highlighted Findings

December 2019 – November 2020 Averaged 6.7% Women Veterans 8% Women Nonveterans 5.3% Male Veterans 7.6% Male Nonveterans

African American woman veteran on the phone at work.
Women from all branches of the military.

2019 GENDER & VETERAN DEMOGRAPHICS

There are nearly 2 million women veterans.
Highlights include:

  • Veterans are 7.5% of the overall population
  • Women veterans make up 10% of veterans but only 1.5% of women
  • The median age of women veterans (51) is 14 years younger than male veterans (65)
  • Women veterans are more likely than male veterans to be in the labor force

Women veterans, who make up 10% of veterans and less than 2% of women, have traditionally been underrepresented in research.

Findings pertaining to women veterans and labor topics can be scarce and difficult to locate.

Other Resources

At DOL VETS, women veterans are served equitably to male veterans in everything that we do. In fact, in 2019 15% of the veterans served through the Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) program were women, and 16% of the veterans who retained employment six months after JVSG services were women! (In 2019, only 12% of veterans in the workforce were women).

One study(pdf) even showed that women veterans using these services experienced less of a gender wage gap than women nonveterans using comparable services. Veterans receive priority of service for all DOL funded employment programs, and veterans with significant barriers to employment may receive more intensive case management.