Social inequalities entering civvy street: researching the importance of class and gender in determining labour market outcomes of military veterans

Each year 14,000 people leave the United Kingdom Armed Forces (UKAF) to return to civilian life (Scullion et al, 2019). The premise that this proposed study is based upon is that perceptions of ex-military as 'mad, bad and sad' have long affected the employment options open to veterans after transition. These perceptions are believed to be shaped strongly by class and gender inequalities, intensifying for working class military men and women with lower qualifications than those in higher ranks. To date, little academic research has centred on class and gender differences in achieving a successful outcome after military service.
Veterans have been reported to be just as likely to be homeless as non-veterans or to have an unstable home background (Short et al, 2018). Those leaving the Service before completing the minimum term i.e. generally less than 3 to 4.5 years, known as an Early Service Leaver (ESL), are more likely to be female, lower rank and serving in the Army as opposed to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (Buckman et al, 2012). Conversely Defence Statistics (2019) note that lower ranks are more likely to be in work after leaving the service than Officers, but agree that women were more likely to be unemployed than men and Army Service leavers are less likely to be in employment than the other Services. Many veterans have had a positive experience transferring from military to civilian life, however there is a small but significant group, 12.5% (Iverson, et al 2007), who do not cope well (Binks and Cambridge, 2018; Scullion et al, 2019). This group includes those classified as an ESL (Buckman et al, 2012) and women, who, appear to have difficulties finding employment (Royal British Legion, 2014). In a literature review by Dodds and Kiernan (2019) it was noted that women often leave the military at an earlier stage than they had planned and that this can lead to feelings of poor preparedness to move into civilian life. However it should be noted that much of the literature in this review was from the United States of America (USA) as there is a lack of literature on female veterans in the UK despite the growth in female recruitment (NATO, 2015). Likewise systematic reviews undertaken by Cox et al (2018) identify that some veterans face challenges i.e. unemployment and homelessness; they note that this can be related to being an ESL, involuntary discharge and some Service leavers with deployment and combat experiences. It is clear from the literature that there are a number of gaps in UK research regarding the reasons why certain groups do not get into employment after leaving the groups. More specifically women and those in certain social classes.
This project will focus upon a diverse group of veterans from a variety of class backgrounds and life-course stages to determine those factors which act as facilitators, and those which act as barriers, to successful employment outcomes in 'civvy street'. The project will involve creative mixed-methods research to produce original in-depth insights into the employment experiences of veterans. The aim being to provide a rounded picture of inequalities in employment opportunities.