PsychArmor Celebrates Women Veterans Day with #RecognizeHer22

Did you know women currently make up approximately 10% of the overall Veteran population (DOL Veterans’ Employment & Training Service, 2020)? In honor of Women Veterans Day on June 12th, Women Veterans Network (WoVen), a national, peer support network led by women Veterans, for women Veterans, launched the #RecognizeHer22 challenge. PsychArmor is excited to accept this challenge and amplify our women Veterans in the military connected-community. 

For the #RecognizeHer22 challenge, I sat down with our Vice President of Operations, Katie Moynihan, to hear about her experience as a woman in service. Katie was a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army serving at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington State. During her time in service, Katie deployed to Jordan and Syria. 

 An overarching theme Katie touched on was the preconceived notions women face in a historically male-dominated force. The idea of proving your worth, both in physical fitness and conduct, solely based on being a woman was difficult to adjust to and manage. “It felt like a microscope lens on how I would act, what I would care about, and what trouble I’d get into,” says Katie. When asked about her biggest barrier, Katie told a story from her time overseas and the impact being in a different culture had on her experience. Being on an all-male special forces team, something as simple as the way to dress affected not only Katie, but the men around her. “At times, it felt like people were waiting for me to mess up,” says Katie “I had to prove I wasn’t the stereotype.” 

For any service member, the transition out of service can be extremely challenging. “One of the biggest obstacles was learning how to talk about the skills set you have to people who haven’t served,” says Katie. During a career leap, it's common for transitioning Women Veterans to have feelings of imposter syndrome and self doubt overtake their thoughts, making them feel incapable of succeeding at a role. Katie was very transparent about lacking industry specific knowledge coming into a nonprofit. Not knowing the vocabulary or how to manage a business was intimidating but leaning on the skills from service to fill the gap made the learning process a little easier. “In the military, your job is to figure it out,” mentions Katie, and having that same mindset helps during transition into a new role. While transitioning out of service, Katie joined the Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) Fellowship Program which allowed her to gain connections in other industries. The HOH Fellows Programs places highly skilled and educated transitioning service members, Veterans, military spouses, and military caregivers with employers committed to hiring them. Utilizing this resource can aid in finding a right fit after service and allow transition to not seem as daunting. 

Many people agree the presence of a mentor can be instrumental in guiding an individual to set and achieve professional and personal goals. Katie found hers at PsychArmor. “Having an all female leadership team is pretty unique,” Moniyhan says, describing her mentors within PsychArmor. “They always push me to tackle the next boundary and I learn so much from watching how they handle certain situations.” Utilizing available resources, such as PsychArmor’s courses on transitioning and the Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) Fellowship Program for transitioning military-connected members, can be the introduction to a mentorship. 

Two major takeaways from Katie’s interview are advocacy and exposure. “We will still face obstacles because the military is a cross section of the country. There will always be a group that doesn’t understand,” says Moniyhan. However, having constant and continued exposure will hopefully allow people to see women are capable in their own right. Through advocating for fair and equal opportunities, for example, women have attained senior leadership positions and the judgment of women has decreased.  Katie credits her time in service for a lot of eye opening experiences, personal growth, and professional development that she prides herself on and carries with her throughout her everyday life. 

At PsychArmor, we highlight Women Veterans in our  Hiring and Retaining Women Veterans course. Through this course, gather actionable tips on how to help level the playing field for Women Veterans at your organization. Click here to enroll now!

Emma Atherall is the Communications Specialist at PsychArmor.