The Women Veterans Employment Initiative, a cooperative effort by Veterans' Employment and Training Service, Women's Bureau, and the Office of the Secretary, kicked off with a listening session on June 19 in Washington, D.C., to discuss challenges for women veterans seeking employment. Approximately 75 attendees gathered to begin a dialogue on creating pathways to economic opportunity for women who are transitioning from military service.
In his welcoming remarks, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training Keith Kelly summarized the effort: "At the Department of Labor, we strive to honor your contributions every day. We do this by putting the full weight of our department behind programs to help ensure that rewarding careers are available to veterans when they come home."
Women's Bureau Acting Director Latifa Lyles said that the initiative "will identify distinct women veteran economic and employment needs and determine how to maximize the department's resources to meet these needs." Later, attendees broke off into discussions at tables named for notable women veterans, where they discussed issues such as what communication methods will engage the women veterans' communities to ensure access to resources and employment opportunities. Nine days earlier, women veterans who are employees of the department held their own listening session. Feedback from both events will be incorporated into the strategic development of the initiatives' activities and will help drive increased engagement by the department with efforts to help women veterans find good jobs.
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