Women Veterans

The role of women in the military has changed significantly in the past decade. Currently 15% of active duty military personnel are women. Of the 1.7 million women veterans nationally, 165,000 reside in California – more than any other state. Because programs serving veterans have traditionally focused on men, women veterans returning from duty in conflict other areas frequently lack access to services that are gender specific.

For more information on this issue, please see below

• California Women Veterans Survey Status Update March 2012
• 2011 California Women Veteran Survey Summary - March 2012
• 2011 CalVet Women Veterans Survey - October 2011
• CRB Briefly Stated - California's Women Veterans: Challenges and Needs (PDF) - April 2010
• US Department of Labor, Women's Bureau - Homeless Women Veterans Listening Sessions - Summer/Fall 2009
• California Women's Commission Applauds Attorney General's Opinion on LGBT Military Veterans' Rights to Benefits - January 4, 2010
• A Call for System Overhaul: Combat Exposure and Sexual Trauma Affecting Female Veterans and Service Members (PDF) December 2009
• California Women Veterans: The Challenges and Needs of Those Who Served (PDF) - Requested by Senator Lois Wolk and the California Commission on the Status of Women, August 2009
• Women Veterans by the Numbers - California State Library Briefly Stated
• California Department of Veterans Affairs - Women Veterans Programs (www.cdva.ca.gov)
• California Women Veterans Roster (www.cdva.ca.gov) - An information bridge that connects California's women veterans to the various resources and benefits available to them

Please visit our women veterans links/resources section for additional information.