post 9/11 women veterans
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Post 9/11 Women Veterans. Kelly Ann Holder Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division U.S. Census Bureau Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America April 15, 2010. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Post 9/11 Women Veterans
Kelly Ann Holder
Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division
U.S. Census Bureau
Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America
April 15, 2010
This presentation is released to inform interested parties of ongoing research and to encourage discussion. The views expressed on statistical issues are those of the author and not necessarily those of
the U.S. Census Bureau.
Introduction• The role of women in the U.S. military has changed since
the inception of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) in 1973. • On the eve of the AVF, women comprised 2 percent of
the military. In 2008, 14 percent of servicemembers were women (DoD 2008).
• Significant changes in legislation and policy in the early 1990s opened up occupational opportunities for active-duty women (GAO 1999).
• Today over 80 percent of the services’ career positions are open for women (GAO 1999).
• In addition to these policy changes, the nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has redefined the experience of women serving in the Armed Forces.
• Since 2002, an unprecedented 155,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (PBS 2007).
• Today’s servicewomen represent a generational shift. They no longer face the same challenges as their predecessors.
• Not only is the representation of women in the AVF increasing, but the demographics of these women are also changing.
Introduction
Research Questions
• How do women who served in the military only after September 11, 2001 differ from their predecessors who served in the early part of the AVF and how do they differ from their present-day nonveteran counterparts?
• How have 20 years of policy changes affected the post-military outcomes of women veterans?
Data and Methods• This analysis uses data from the 1990 decennial census and the
2008 American Community Survey (ACS).
• The universe for this analysis is the population of civilian women 18 to 34 years old from each data source.
• The 1990 decennial census data were used to facilitate the analysis of the two cohorts of veterans. The 1990 data provide information on women veterans from the early part of the AVF-period who are close in age and in the amount of time since their separation from the military to the most recent cohort of women veterans from the Post-9/11 era.
• Multivariate analysis was used to compare the earnings of veterans and nonveterans in 1990 and 2008.
• All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90 percent confidence level unless otherwise noted.
Demographic Changes1990 to 2008
An asterisk (*) in a graph denotes an estimate that is statistically different from the estimate for the reference group,
“Post 9/11 women veterans.”
Race and Hispanic Origin(in percent)
57.0
22.9
6.6
13.5
5.9*2.7*
19.7*
71.7*
17.9*
8.0*
13.8*
60.4*
White alone, notHispanic
Black alone, notHispanic
Other, not Hispanic Hispanic
Early AVF Veterans
Post 9/11 Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
According to the DoD, military women today are more likely to be members of a racial minority than military men.
Educational Attainment(in percent)
24.3
60.2
11.8
3.82.5*
10.1*
48.9*
38.4*
6.0*
17.8*
38.9*37.3*
High school graduateor less
Some college orassociate's degree
Bachelor's degree Advanced degree
Early AVF Veterans
Post 9/11 Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
Of the women who had some college or associate's degree, 28% of Early AVF veterans and 46% of Post 9/11 veterans and nonveterans were enrolled in school. This could indicate Post 9/11 women veterans were more likely to use their GI Bill benefits than Early AVF veterans.
37.5
11.1
4.7
46.7
26.4*
6.1*
13.8*
53.8*
58.6*
2.5*4.5*
34.4*
Married Divorced Widowed or Separated Never married
Early AVF Veterans
Post 9/11 Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
Marital Status(in percent)
Today’s servicewomen are less likely than their male counterparts to be married. (Segal and Segal 2004)
Post-Military Outcomes1990 to 2008
An asterisk (*) in a graph denotes an estimate that is statistically different from the estimate for the reference group,
“Post 9/11 women veterans.”
How have jobs changed over time in the military?Active Duty Occupations of Men and Women: 1990 and 2008
27.2
27.1
25.1
9.3
7.5
3.9
51.1
6.4
16.3
3.8
6.2
16.2
18.7
13.1
30.2
28.0
8.3
1.8
39.7
4.9
25.9
13.5
6.9
9.1
Military
Production, transportation,material moving
Management, professional,and related
Sales and office
Service
All other
Men 1990
Men 2008
Women 1990
Women 2008
Servicewomen are increasingly being assigned to more “nontraditional” jobs (GAO 1999). As the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan grow longer, the rules governing which jobs can be performed by women has changed to meet those needs.
“Military” occupations are those jobs specific to the Armed Forces, such as tactical operations and weapon specialists.
“All Other” includes construction, extraction, maintenance, and agricultural jobs.
Other Non-Hispanic Women
31.1
17.4
34.8
11.5
5.2
36.9
15.7
37.1
6.8
3.4
40.5
20.1
33.2
4.3
1.9
Management, professional,and related
Service
Sales and office
Production, transportation,material moving
All Other
Occupations of Women by Race and Hispanic Origin(in percent)
“All Other” includes construction, extraction, maintenance, and agricultural jobs.
Some of these changes can be explained by job losses and gains in specific occupations over time. Manufacturing, production, and material moving jobs have decreased since 1990 while service jobs have increased (Abraham and Spletzer 2009).
White Non-Hispanic Women
30.4
4.3
29.5
28.6
31.2
7.4
3.3
34.3
17.2*
37.1*
10.9*
35.6*
24.7*
4.0*
1.4*
Management, professional, andrelated
Service
Sales and office
Production, transportation,material moving
All Other
Black Non-Hispanic Women
23.2
17.9
11.4
3.6
28.5
20.9
35.9
10.5
4.2
24.3
39.6
6.0
2.9
43.8*
27.2*
Management, professional,and related
Service
Sales and office
Production, transportation,material moving
All Other
Hispanic Women
25.6
17.8
40.2
4.7
30.5
16.5
40.1
6.6
5.8
39.7
8.5
3.8
11.6*
20.6*
27.4*
Management,professional, and related
Service
Sales and office
Production, transportation,material moving
All Other
Early AVF Veterans
Post 9/11 Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
Post 9/11 women veterans had a higher unemployment rate than nonveterans in 2008.
9.5
10.5
8.6*
Early AVF veterans Post 9/11 veterans Nonveterans (2008)
10.7
3.1
9.8
12.1
12.0
28.8
34.2
9.5 30.4
3.7
4.9*
40.8*
19.9*
20.0*
7.1*
7.5*
17.1*
28.4*
18 to 24 years
30 to 34 years
25 to 29 years
Unemployed Not in Labor Force
Post 9/11 Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
25.2* 3.1
34.0 4.4
9.545.2
47.8* 5.8
7.022.3*
17.0*
13.4
20.9
22.7
16.1*
18.3
26.6
9.0*
Early AVF veterans
Percent of Nonemployed:
Enrolled in school
Has Bachelor's Degree
About 30 percent of Early AVF veterans in 1990 and Post 9/11 veterans and nonveterans in 2008 were nonemployed.
Half of nonemployed Post 9/11 veterans worked at some point in the 12 months prior to their interview, compared with
24 percent of Early AVF veterans and 36 percent of nonveterans.
13.4*
11.0*
48.6*
12.0* 1.2
13.8
19.6
30.7
4.3
31.0
1.1
13.3
12.4*
23.4* 20.8*
4.4 2.5*
36.5*
Unemployed
Not in Labor Force
Early AVF Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
Post 9/11 Veterans
Worked in past 12 months
Worked 1 to 5 years ago
Worked over 5 years ago or never worked
About 36 percent of nonemployed Post 9/11 veterans reported “military” as their last occupation. Of them, 59 percent were 18 to 24 years old.
A higher percentage of veterans than nonveterans worked in male-dominated occupations, however the percentage was lower for Post 9/11
veterans than Early AVF veterans.
40.8
16.9*
35.0*
48.1*
53.5*
37.8*
8.7*
44.841.8
13.4
52.3*
6.9*
Male-dominated Mixed Female-dominated
Early AVF Veterans
Nonveterans (1990)
Post 9/11 Veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
(70 to 100% women)(30 to 69% women)(0 to 29% women)
Note: The differences between veterans and nonveterans in 1990 are statistically different in each category.
Selected Detailed Occupations Classified by Percent Women
Male-dominated = 0 - 29% women Mixed = 30 - 69% women Female-dominated = 70 - 100% women
Early AVF Veterans Nonveterans Post 9/11 Veterans Nonveterans
secretary secretary customer service rep cashier
registered nurse cashier cashier waitress
nursing aide waitress waitress secretary
cashier elementary school teacher secretary elementary school teacher
manager, all other bookkeeper nursing aide retail salesperson
waitress registered nurse registered nurse nursing aide
general office clerk manager, all other security guard customer service rep
bookkeeper nursing aide retail salesperson registered nurse
sales supervisor sales supervisor manager, all other child care worker
typist general office clerk first line supervisor first line supervisor
1990 2008
Year-round fulltime is defined as 50 or more weeks per year and 35 or more hours per week.
Median Earnings in 2008 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars
$27,797
$21,607
$29,346
$30,261
$22,453*
$20,396*
All employed women
All women employedyear-round fulltime
Early AVF veterans
Post 9/11 veterans
Nonveterans (2008)
Multivariate Analysis of Earnings
Controlling only for basic demographic characteristics, women veterans 18 to 34 years old earned 17 percent more than similar nonveteran women in 1990 and 2008. When weeks and hours are included in the model, women veterans still earned more, about 7 percent, however the longer hours they worked on average explains most of this earnings gap.
Past research has typically found an earnings advantage for minority veterans. While this was the case in 1990, it did not hold true for the 2008 ACS sample. Whether this is a result of the policy changes regarding military occupations for women or the effects of the current recession cannot be determined with these data.
Early AVF 1.3 *** YesPost 9/11 1.1 No
Early AVF 1.6 *** YesPost 9/11 1.9 *** Yes
Early AVF 0.9 *** NoPost 9/11 1.0 No
***p < .0001
Are veterans more likely to work year round than nonveterans?
Odds Ratios for Employment and Work Status
Are veterans more likely to be in the labor force than nonveterans?
Are veterans more likely to work fulltime hours than nonveterans?
The demographics of women veterans are changing as the population of the women entering the military becomes more diverse.
Post 9/11 women veterans are more likely to be:
Racially diverse
Never married
More educated
Black
Divorced
Less educated
Compared with Early AVF women veterans
Compared with nonveteran women
Compared with nonveteran women
Early AVF Women Veterans:Were more likely to be in the labor forceWere more likely to work fulltime hours
Earned 20 percent more
Post 9/11 Women Veterans: Were more likely to work fulltime hours
Earned 7 percent more
Discussion
Research has suggested that military experience is a close substitute for civilian labor market experience in occupation groups where training is the most transferable (medical, equipment repair, etc.) while not so for occupations where training is least transferable (infantry, combat).
Veterans may face temporary employment problems as they first enter the labor market after their military enlistment ends due to imperfect knowledge of the civilian job market and difficulty translating military skills into civilian terms for employers.
Post 9/11 veterans are also entering into a difficult job market. Their high unemployment rate indicates that they are actively looking for work but are unable to find a job. Women who served in nontraditional military-related occupations may be at an increased disadvantage compared with Early AVF women veterans who were banned from such jobs.
Women serving in the military may be doing jobs similar to military men, as the policies change regarding occupations, but women veterans are doing jobs similar to all other women.
These findings may suggest difficulty transferring skills learned in male-dominated, and war-related, military occupations.
Discussion
ReferencesAbraham, Katharine G. and James R. Spletzer. (2009) “Are the New Jobs Good Jobs?” Draft. Alvarez, Lizette. “GI Jane Breaks the Combat Barrier.” (16 Aug. 2009) The New York Times. Web. Cooney, Richard T., Mady Wechsler Segal, David R. Segal, and William W. Falk. (2003) “Racial Differences in the
Impact of Military Service on the Socioeconomic Status of Women Veterans.” Armed Forces and Society 30:53-86.
Goldberg, Matthew S. and John T. Warner (1987) “Military Experience, Civilian Experience, and the Earnings of
Veterans.” The Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 22, No. 1: 62-81. Gottschalck, Alfred O. and Kelly Ann Holder (2009) “We Want You! The Role of Human Capital in Explaining the
Veteran-Nonveteran Earnings Differential.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Economic Association. New York, NY.
Government Accountability Office. (1999) “Trends in the Occupational Distribution of Military Women.”
Washington, DC. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Personnel and Readiness. (2005) “Population Representation in the
Military Services.” Washington, DC. Quester, Aline O. and Curtis L. Gilroy. (2002) “Women and Minorities in America’s Volunteer Military.”
Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 20, No. 2: 111-121. Segal, David R. and Mady Wechsler Segal. (2004) “America’s Military Population.” Population Bulletin 59, no. 4,
Washington, DC. “More Women Soldiers Dying in Iraq.” (18 Dec. 2006) NewHour Extra, PBS. Web.
Contact Information
Kelly Ann Holder
Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division
U.S. Census Bureau
301-763-5887