White Paper: Moral & Structural Barriers - Women Veterans vs. Men in Business Support

Breaking Barriers in Transition

By Georgia Lee Arts (2025)

Reviewed by: Thomas J. Parr, M.S.Ed., University of Wisconsin–Superior

1. Context & Definitions 

Women veterans are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. veteran population. They bring unmatched resilience, leadership, and mission-driven focus to entrepreneurship and employment. However, many continue to face structural and moral barriers in accessing the same business resources, recognition, and community support afforded to their male counterparts.

Despite the rise in women veteran–owned businesses, support ecosystems often remain male-centered in structure, language, and assumptions, overlooking the unique strengths and needs of women and further compounded by race, disability, and LGBTQ+ identities (U.S. Department of Labor, 2022).

2. Disparities in Capital Access

• 44% of women veteran entrepreneurs were denied funding compared to 27% of male veterans (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2020).

• 70% of women gave up after loan denials, compared to 61% of men (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2020).

• 45% of women reported loans with interest rates ≥15%, versus 21% of men (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2020).

  
  

These disparities are intensified by perceptions that women veterans are "nontraditional entrepreneurs," despite often exceeding civilian leadership and strategic benchmarks.

3. Mentor & Network Gaps

• Only 29% of women veterans found federal funding helpful, compared to 38% of men (National Women’s Business Council, 2021).

• 49% of women veterans reported that VA business services do not meet their needs (National Women’s Business Council, 2021).

  
  

Many women veterans feel invisible within federal and community entrepreneurial programs. They often lack access to peer networks, identity-safe spaces, and women-focused veteran leadership programs.

What Are Identity-Safe Spaces? 

Identity-safe spaces are environments that are physical, professional, or virtual, where individuals from historically marginalized backgrounds, including women veterans, feel respected, seen, and psychologically secure to express themselves without fear of exclusion, bias, or performative diversity. These spaces (Steele and Cohn-Vargas, 2013); (Edmondson, 1999):

• Recognize and honor intersectional identities (e.g., race, gender, trauma history, LGBTQ+ status); (Crenshaw, 1991).

• Proactively counteract performative diversity, microaggressions, and silencing behaviors (Wingfield & Alston, 2014).

• Cultivate belonging and visibility without requiring conformity to dominant norms (Steele & Cohn-Vargas, 2013).

• Foster psychological safety, which is essential for learning, leadership, and innovation (Edmondson, 1999); (Brown, 2018).

  
  

In veteran entrepreneurship programs, an identity-safe space ensures that women veteran survivors of military sexual trauma (MST), women of color, or LGBTQ+ leaders can contribute ideas without appropriation, pursue opportunities, and receive mentorship without fear of judgment or dismissal.

4. Federal Contracting & Resource Disparities

• Women veterans own 15% of veteran-run businesses but receive far fewer federal contracts (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2020).

• Cultural and gendered barriers persist in procurement systems, mentorship pipelines, and program design. (National Women’s Business Council, 2021).

  
  

These barriers reflect entrenched systems where decision-making power, funding, and visibility disproportionately favor male veterans.

5. Comparative Summary

Category	Women Veterans	Male Veterans
Denied credit	44%	27%
Gave up after denial	70%	61%
Loans with interest ≥15%	45%	21%
Found federal funding helpful	29%	38%
Report VA support inadequate	49%	43%

6. Root Issues: Structural & Moral Injury 

These disparities reflect not just economic inequality but also deep moral injury. Many women veterans report being discredited, excluded, or reduced to symbolic representation. The lived experience of many, including this author, reveals a decade of denied support, absence of peer networks, lack of recognition, and peer sabotage involving both male and female veterans.

7. Challenges Between Women: Sister Wounds & Innovation Gaps 

Systemic barriers are formidable, but interpersonal dynamics among women also matter. Women veterans often face the "sister wound": exclusion, comparison, and mistrust shaped by scarcity mindsets and unhealed trauma. These dynamics manifest as:

• Lack of collaboration or mentorship from more established women leaders (Dellasega, 2012).

• Peer sabotage or withholding of information (Workplace Bullying Institute, 2021).

• Performative support without genuine allyship (Workplace Bullying Institute, 2021).

  
  

Solutions include:

• Trauma-informed leadership education (Steele, 2010); (Derald Wing Sue et al., 2009).

• Identity-safe innovation hubs (Steele, 2010); (Derald Wing Sue et al., 2009).

• Purpose-driven community culture (Steele, 2010); (Derald Wing Sue et al., 2009).

  
  

8. Challenges With Men: Patriarchal Gatekeeping, Bias, and Innovation Suppression 

Women often encounter systemic gender bias:

• Frequent interruptions or dismissal in meetings (Harvard Business Review, 2020).

• Doubts about competence or emotional readiness (Harvard Business Review, 2020).

• Ideas validated only when repeated by male peers (Harvard Business Review, 2020); McKinsey and Company, 2023).

  
  

McKinsey (2023) notes that only 1 in 4 C-suite leaders are women, 1 in 20 women of color, reflecting entrenched gendered norms of leadership and credibility.

9. Educational Solutions:

To address gaps, I recommend integrating:

• Fund Women-Vet-Specific Initiatives: Tailor capital access, business coaching, and education to their unique needs.

• Vet-Centered Peer Networks: Build apolitical, trauma-informed communities.

• Protect Intellectual Property: Ensure business, coaching frameworks, ideas, and original work created by women veterans are legally protected and ethically licensed.

• Amplify Visibility & Voice: Prioritize women veterans in economic development, leadership roles, policy-making, and federal procurement.

• Transition Coaching Integration: Implement the Elysian Dream® coaching framework within military-to-civilian transition services and private sector development programs. This evidence-informed model combines narrative identity work, neuroscience, emotional intelligence, archetypal coaching, and technology (artificial intelligence) to support sustainable leadership growth, reduce burnout, and close identity gaps, especially for women veterans navigating post-service reintegration and entrepreneurship.

  
  

These interventions help address burnout, imposter syndrome, and systemic distrust.

10. Conclusion 

Women veterans have served with courage, excellence, and vision. Yet, disparities in capital, visibility, and systemic recognition persist. These inequities aren't merely financial, they're ethical. Addressing them means restructuring leadership pipelines, transforming business cultures, and honoring women veterans as full partners in change.

Supporting women veterans is not a charity. It is a national investment in strategic leadership, inclusive innovation, and ethical futures.

References:

• National Women’s Business Council (2021). "Veteran Women Entrepreneurs: Insights for Research, Policy & Practice."

• SBA Office of Advocacy. (2020). "Veteran-Owned Businesses and Their Owners."

• Veterans Affairs Center for Women Veterans.

• U.S. Department of Labor. (2022). "Veterans’ Employment Challenges."

• Harvard Business Review (2020). "The Biases That Still Hold Female Leaders Back."

• McKinsey & Company. (2023). "Women in the Workplace."

• Steele, C. M., & Cohn-Vargas, B. (2013). Identity Safe Classrooms: Places to Belong and Learn. Corwin Press.

• Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

• Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams.

• Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.

• Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Random House.

• Wingfield, A. H., & Alston, R. J. (2014). Maintaining Hierarchies in Predominantly White Organizations: A Case Study of Tokenism and the Power of Collective Response. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, 33(1), 37–53.

About the Author

Georgia Lee Arts is the founder of Elysian Dream®, a veteran-owned company redefining the future of occupational wellness. She is the creator of an innovative, evidence-based, coaching framework designed to guide individuals through life and career transitions, supporting inner transformation for outer expression and professional alignment.

Her method is now being launched as a certified facilitator and coach training program, ideal for HR professionals, corporate trainers, leaders at all levels, executives, educators, career coaches, consultants, creatives, solopreneurs, and organizations supporting veteran transitions. With broad applicability, the framework supports personal development and strategic identity growth across industries, life stages, and continents. With over 34 years of cross-industry experience in leadership, training, human resources, and coaching, Georgia brings deep insight into how identity shapes success and well-being. She is the author of Dream Journey: Breaking the Dream Barriers™ – A Guide to Bridging Identity Gaps in Life and Career, a transformative resource that empowers individuals to align who they are with what they do. Through her work, Georgia helps leaders, veterans, and changemakers evolve into their highest expression - personally and professionally.

Contact: To learn more, collaborate, or inquire about certification and speaking engagements, email georgia.elysiandream@gmail.com

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