Racial Differences in the Impact of Military Service on the Socioeconomic Status of Women Veterans

This article investigates the impact of military service on the socioeconomic status of African American and white, non-Hispanic women veterans of the post-1973 U.S. allvolunteer force. Earnings and family income are used as measures of socioeconomic status. Data from the 1990 Public Use Microdata Sample L were used in this analysis. This data set is a .45 percent sample drawn from the 1990 Census. Using semilogarithmic regression, we found that, overall, African American women veterans did not differ significantly from their non-serving counterparts, controlling for several factors associ ated with socioeconomic status. White, non-Hispanic women veterans, however, suffered an earnings and family income penalty relative to similar non-serving women. The data suggest that this veteran disadvantage may be due to the interaction of military service. child-bearing patterns, and educational attainment.