Women Veterans in Politics - Made to be Leaders
In spite of the fact that the federal government provides a variety of services for veteran assistance during transition and readjustment after military service has ended, women veterans face serious gaps and challenges in the existing Veterans benefits offered. As women veterans in politics become more commonplace and even acceptable at every level, the opportunities to change the status quo and remove these obstacles will also increase.
Female veterans generally face more challenges during this time than males do, and there are obstacles that impede a successful transition to civilian life for these veterans. One recent study found that women veterans tend to experience unemployment rates that are stubbornly high after leaving military service, and this factor is a known precursor to poverty and financial struggles.
Women Veterans in Politics
A special report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs determined that an estimated 10 percent of female veterans in the USA live at or below the poverty level, and that 1 in 5 veterans who are between the ages of 17 and 24 years old are impoverished. This is not acceptable, but until more women veterans are part of the political system change will be slow to come.
Women veterans in large numbers struggle to find and afford childcare, veteran housing often restricts or completely prohibits children in available housing units, and the unique health needs that women have are not being addressed by the current veteran healthcare system in place. For too long the face of veterans was exclusively male but that is changing.
How can Women Veterans in Politics make a difference and become Involved?
There are many ways that women veterans can get involved in politics, and many levels that they can choose from. Local political campaigns, government groups, school boards, and other community activities with a political aspect can be a stepping stone for women veterans to get involved and engaged in the political process.
There are many helpful guides, like this one from WikkiHow, that can help women veterans who are interested in politics get involved.
Ways for Women Veterans to become Involved.
Go to Local Political Meetings- Political meetings for a party can help women veterans meet the political leaders and players in their local community, and help identify the specific issues and problems that the community faces.
Run for a Position on a Local School Board- As a school board member women veterans can gain experience in the political process while still working on a small community scale. Since many women who have served in the military have children this can be a great way to get involved in the local community and politics at the same time.
Volunteer at Party Headquarters- Women veterans who are interested in possibly running for office in the future or who just want to understand the way politics work can volunteer at party headquarters. This can be an invaluable learning experience in politics and help the individual network with like-minded people.
Become a Campaign Volunteer- Contact a local candidate and volunteer for campaign work. Women veterans can benefit from helping others and a sense of community, and this step does not require any political experience at all. Most campaigns are always in need of good volunteers. Seeing a campaign from the inside gives a great insight for those considering joining the ranks of women veterans in politics.
Join an Existing Political Organization- There are a number of good political organizations that women veterans can join based on the preferred party and political ideology. Young Republicans, Young Democrats, and many other political organizations are always looking for new members.
Run for Office- One way that women veterans can change things is to run for office so that changes can be made to the current system for veterans, however this does take some knowledge and experience in politics to be successful.