Military spouses of color report a greater need for two household incomes than their white peers. Additionally, they experience substantially higher unemployment rates and lower earnings than their civilian counterparts.
Discrimination and slurs
Culturally, the military may exacerbate efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the workplace. “Off-color jokes, racial slurs, and discriminatory comments that are (erroneously) used to build a sense of camaraderie negatively affect active-duty service members, spouses, and veteran respondents of color,” the report said.
One in five active-duty service members, 14 percent of veterans and 10 percent of active-duty spouses of color report having been subject to slurs or jokes at least five times since January 2020 in their military or veteran community. “However, most respondents of color view the military’s ‘colorblind’ mentality as inaccurate and potentially corrosive and recognize racial equity work is both necessary and divisive,” the report added.
Recommendations for change
The challenges identified in the report are reflective of issues in American society at large, it said. There are also a number of areas where the military outperforms the rest of the country in terms of positive outcomes for service members and families of color.
“Every organization, community, and individual which desires to support military and veteran families will be less effective if they fail to consider the unique experiences of military and veteran families of color in their efforts,” the report concluded.
The report offers the following recommendations to alleviate disparities in the military community:
- Build stronger relationships and more inclusive military and veteran communities
- Empower civilian communities to support military and veteran families of color and encourage military installations to continually engage their local communities
- Strengthen and diversify the all-volunteer military
- Improve data collection and understanding of racial issues
Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English.
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