Have you Thanked A Woman Veteran Today?
Happy Veterans Day to the millions of Veterans who have bravely served our country. However I wanted to give a special shout-out to Women Veterans who are often overlooked, forgotten and feel invisible.
Women Veterans continue to face significant barriers and challenges in accessing necessary health care and other services, while experiencing a lack of recognition unlike their male counterparts. Women Veterans are a diverse and important segment of the United States and should be treated as such.
A social media post summed up how I and many Women Veterans feel.
“Veterans Day from a Woman Veteran’s Perspective.”
– I am the Veteran, not my spouse
– I was not drafted, but I chose to join
– If I park in a spot for Disabled Veterans, it’s because I am one
– If you asked for my military ID, I hope you asked a man too
– My looks have nothing to do with being a Veteran
– Don’t forget to thank women veterans for their service
We are Veterans too.
As a matter of fact nearly 10 % of US Veterans are women. As of 2015 women make up nearly 12.3% of Afghanistan and Iraq war Veterans. And not surprisingly to those of us who’ve served, 1 in 3 treated at the Veterans Health Administration say they have experienced Military Sexual Trauma.
According to Statista.com there are more than 1.64 million female veterans in the United States, with the median age of women Veterans was 51, compared to 65 years to our male counterparts. During Women’s History month a virtual exhibit was created to highlight women Veterans and offer a reminder that “I am not invisible”.
Military Veterans launch e-learning Tech App to accelerate diversity and inclusive.
Twelve veterans have come together to found a mobile app called “diversitypop” to address the issues of diversity and inclusion, racial equality and political uncertainty. The co-workers range from a Rhodes Scholar to West Point and Naval Academy graduates, according to a media release.
“When America’s service academy graduates were trained for diversity and inclusion in the 1980’s, they did so via immersive experiences and intense interactions with people not like themselves,” said Drew Bartkiewicz, one of the 12 co-founders of diversitypop, who developed product inspiration from his tenure at salesforce.com in the early 2000s.