Over two million female veterans represent a mighty and growing segment in the U.S.
The women who have served our country in the military are strong and heroic but their contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Many do not even identify as veterans and are missing out on benefits and programs that can assist in their post-military careers. Over two million female veterans represent a mighty and growing segment that warrant support outside the veteran community to succeed. The unique challenges they face when readjusting to civilian life include a lack of professional networks, a sense of purpose and access to supportive services, all contributing to underemployment.
To shed light on their experiences and share proposed solutions, YourNexStage and The Female Quotient hosted: Celebrating Women Veterans: Growing Through Allyship with support from JPMorgan Chase. We opened the lid on the hurdles they face so we can better bridge the military-civilian divide. These are their stories.
Finding Purpose, Team & Community
Mary Beth Bruggeman served in the Marine Corps for eight years as a combat engineer officer and deployed to Iraq in 2003. She left active duty in 2007 and shared, “the minute I took my uniform off for the last time, I felt an immediate loss of purpose. I had a six-month-old daughter and wandered aimlessly for some years.”
In 2015, she joined The Mission Continues, a nonprofit organization that connects military veterans with under-resourced communities. “I was missing someone asking me to serve again, that feeling of being needed. This organization gave me purpose and I told myself, ‘You’re not done, you have more to give. Here’s your next hard thing you can do and now I’m able to unlock that for other people.”
Aniela Szymanski decided to join the Marine Corps in law school and many thought it was a silly choice. “It was hard for others to relate, to give up career opportunities for military service. When you come from a military family you understand the purpose of sacrifice and service and the desire to share in that.”
The Mental Toll
Women face a myriad of challenges associated with the deeply psychological transformation of leaving military service and re-entering society. They report not feeling accepted by civilian women and they struggle with finding peers with which they feel supported and encouraged. “One of the problems in addressing the gaps in services and care is that (to date) there have been very few efforts to identify them,” said Szymanski.
The University of Alabama is currently evaluating data from a nationwide survey of women veterans, and it will be essential to mine that data and use it to figure how we can close those gaps. It is also paramount that veteran organizations partner with civilian organizations to assist in the transition and experience of our female veterans.
This is what YourNexStage (YNS), a nonprofit aims to do, said Szymanski who serves as chair of their board of directors. “We include everyone in the conversation and provide resources so women veterans can reclaim their status and emerge from the shadows, confident, proud and connected to a network of support.”
YNS is the first women veterans’ specific collaborative in the U.S. with the mission to provide transition support services for women veterans and transitioning service women regardless of race, gender preference, rank or discharge status. Said YNS founder Kate Watson, “It is truly about bringing organizations together to better serve women veterans. We’re here to weave the safety and support network, to provide case management where we can and to build the community everywhere we can.”
Veteran Entrepreneurship
As the first female and first non-physician Acting Surgeon General of the Army, retired Major General Gale S. Pollock had seen the evils of the battlefield with her own eyes. While serving she had discovered that 10 to 13% of all physical combat injuries involve the eye. As a self-described zealot for the vision impaired, she founded Elevivo, “to overcome the stigma in the U.S. that if your eyes don’t work, your brain’s dead.”
After talking to hundreds of injured troops, their families and the providers trying to take care of them, she said no one knew where to turn. “They don’t understand the language to go with the diagnosis, or what to ask because they’re scared. We’re providing that information.”
Veteran entrepreneurship generates over one trillion in revenue for the U.S. economy every year, and women veteran entrepreneurs are the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs in the country. While only one in 10 veterans are women, they account for one in six veteran-owned businesses.
Thereasa Black started her business after what became her last deployment while serving on active duty in the Navy. “My daughter was about to turn two and I’m a single mom. When I learned I had to leave before her birthday, I cried every day and knew I couldn't deploy again. And as an attorney I also knew I couldn't return home and work 80-hour weeks and never see her either.”
Black, now a Naval Reserve officer, decided the time had come to start her own business and sought guidance from Bunker Labs, a resource for military veterans and spouses. “I decided to make healthy desserts because before I was deployed my daughter had never had sugar. Apparently my family felt she was deprived of sweets.” Bon AppeSweet was born, featuring Black’s signature healthy desserts sweetened with fruits instead of sugar.
Helping Female Veterans Transition Into Our Business Communities
The biggest hurdle Black faced was trying to find funding. “It didn’t matter that we were picked up by Whole Foods or Walmart, people still didn’t want to give us money.” She eventually found support through PenFed VEIP (Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program) where she met her mentor Abe Carmack, a veteran entrepreneur.
Szymanski found she was underselling her leadership experience when she left the Marine Corps. “It’s a constant education process and it’s hard for veterans to talk about their military experience to those who haven't served, but it’s important that you do. It can be awkward and difficult, but if we don't do it, we’ll be in the same place.”
“Military women have had experiences civilians can’t even fathom. We have so much to offer our communities,” said Pollock. “When we look at the challenges and the need for leadership, team building, trust and competence, we bring all of that to the party. America needs our engagement—it needs the voice of women.”
