Inclusivity at the VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs now has a cultural transformation action plan with an 18-member task force created last year under a presidential executive order. That task force (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access, or I-DEA) made 20 recommendations and 60 sub-recommendations to be considered over the next four years. Per their mission statement, the goal is to ensure that all employees, veterans, families, caregivers and survivors have equitable treatment and experiences when interacting with the VA.

The task force initially focused on existing policies and programs, barriers, gaps and institutional access points. One of the first things it accomplished was to raise the Pride flag at the VA Central Office. Another was to address the rule-making process to modify the Code of Federal Regulations to expand the VA’s gender-affirming care and benefits for veterans.

Additionally, the task force has changed the Veterans Experience Office ( VEO) Trust Surveys to include questions about gender identity and sexual orientation, and medical records choices were added that include transgender male, transgender female, non-binary, other and “does not wish to disclose.” The Veterans Health Administration’s LGBT and Related Identities health program is now called the LGBTQ+ Health Program.

One of its goals (on the list of 20) is to integrate I-DEA into hiring, position management, talent development and executive coaching. Allied with that is their goal of evaluating “institutional symbols, mottos, expression of values displayed and used by VA to ensure inclusiveness and diverse representation.” One of the guiding principles is to deliberately and consciously embed I-DEA into the institutional memory and organizational culture of the VA. To ensure that this happens, overseeing all this will be a proposed I-DEA Office and Chief Diversity Officer (DCO) position that will report directly to the Secretary of the VA.

To read the rest of the task force’s 20 recommendations, go to: www.va.gov/ORMDI/docs/VA_I-DEA_Action_Plan-SIGNED.pdf.