"She served her country. Now, her career deserves a fighting chance."
A 52-week, peer-led intervention that transforms how employers integrate and advance women veterans through standardized culture practices.
Consortium Partners
The "broken rung" is the missing step on the career ladder where women are overlooked for advancement into their first managerial roles. For women veterans, this problem is compounded: they're often hired below their capability—placed in entry-level positions despite years of military leadership experience. The first rung of the civilian career ladder is broken before they even step on it.
Women veterans with leadership experience are systematically placed in entry-level roles, missing the first rung to management that their skills have already earned.
Despite years of leadership experience, technical training, and proven performance under pressure, women veterans are systematically undervalued during the civilian hiring process. Military ranks, certifications, and accomplishments often fail to translate into equivalent civilian roles—leaving qualified leaders stuck at the bottom of the ladder.
The consequences are immediate and lasting:
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; RAND Corporation Veterans Employment Research
Even when hired appropriately, women veterans navigate unfamiliar workplace cultures alone—without the standardized support that could help them thrive.
The military-to-civilian transition involves more than learning new job skills—it requires navigating an entirely different workplace culture with different communication norms, hierarchy expectations, and unwritten rules.
Common culture gaps include:
Sources: Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF); Syracuse University D'Aniello Institute
Inflexible workplaces, unconscious bias, and lack of mentoring create environments where the path to management remains blocked.
Most employer "veteran-friendly" initiatives focus exclusively on hiring. Once a veteran is brought on board, there's no clear path to advance into management—even for those with extensive military leadership experience. The broken rung stays broken.
What's missing from workplace advancement:
Sources: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); U.S. Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service
"The transition from military to civilian workplace isn't about finding a job—it's about reaching the rung you've already earned."
The first promotion determines everything.
A comprehensive transformation that reshapes workplace culture through standardized, peer-led interventions at every stage.
STARS isn't just another job placement program. It's a fundamental reimagining of how we support women veterans.
52 weeks of standardized culture support, not just job placement. We stay with veterans through the critical first year.
Unique partnership combining emotional support with employer engagement for holistic transformation.
Nonclinical approach led by women veterans for women veterans. Those who've walked the path guide others.
Employer practice templates that create measurable culture change. Data-driven, results-focused.
Real stories from women veterans, employers, and advocates who have experienced the STARS difference.
Three organizations united by a shared mission to transform workplace culture for women veterans.
Women-veteran-led peer support grounded in 15+ years of lived experience
Founded and led by women veterans, Grace After Fire brings peer-led programming expertise and deep understanding of the unique challenges facing women who have served.
Research-backed values and skills matching that reduces bias through blind placement
Specialists in values-based and skills-based hiring practices, transforming how organizations recruit, integrate, and retain diverse talent.
Enterprise-scale wellbeing infrastructure proven on $20M+ programs
Digital health innovators providing the technology backbone for data collection, wellbeing tracking, and outcome measurement.
Three innovations aligned for full-year culture change
"Moving culture change from aspiration to practice across a full year of integrated support"
Proven track records, distributed delivery, and scalable infrastructure
State VA partnerships across Texas and Oklahoma. Established relationships with Texas Veterans Commission. Track record serving military women across 26 counties.
Peer-led, contracted model reduces centralized staffing risk. Certified facilitators scale without overhead. Shared accountability across partners.
Enterprise systems proven at $20M+ scale. Built-in compliance, reporting, and implementation capacity. Data infrastructure ready for retention tracking.
Measurable results that demonstrate real change for women veterans and their employers.
0-0
Month Retention
Primary success metric for workplace integration
Role
Progression Tracking
Advancement from hire into leadership positions
Comm
Confidence Scores
Civilian communication competency growth
Roles matched to capability, retention through year one
Stabilized housing, schooling, and healthcare resources
Standardized onboarding and measurable retention gains
Cultural competency and structured feedback practices
Building a replicable model for national impact through strategic pilots and standardized toolkits.
Launch in Texas and Florida with select employer partners. Refine curriculum and validate outcomes through real-world testing.
Scale to additional states using proven templates and trained facilitators. Build the network of certified STARS @ Work partners.
Publish findings to inform Civilian Basic Training standardization nationally. Shape the future of veteran transition support.