In January 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs held a meeting to discuss survey results on employee 'pain points' tied to personal identities, aiming to deepen diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The initiative sought to create lasting changes within the agency. Under the subsequent Trump administration, the VA has moved to eliminate these programs.
The Department of Veterans Affairs launched an initiative in the final year of the Biden administration to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles designed to endure beyond that period. In late January 2024, the VA's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Council convened to review findings from a survey. Employees identified 'pain points' linked to their identities, including race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and generational categories such as Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z.
Nearly 300 participants, with 281 interviewed, reported 5,710 such pain points. These included complaints about inappropriate comments from colleagues, office holiday decorations excluding certain religious preferences, and broader concerns over workplace sensitivities. The meeting, planned three years prior, stemmed from a collaboration between the Veterans Experience Office's Employee Experience Organizational Management Directorate and the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion. Its goal was to enhance employee experiences by addressing identity-based issues.
Participants selected multiple identities in their responses: 3% chose one, 24% two, 39% three, 21% four, 11% five, and 2% six. The council recommended redesigning data fields for 'gender,' 'sexual orientation,' and 'race' to offer more inclusive self-identification options. It also proposed a 'streamlined escalation pathway' for handling complaints related to mistreatment, harassment, or conduct issues, potentially involving interactions with supervisors or even veterans served.
One suggestion addressed supporting employees after negative encounters with customers, such as providing extra coverage for health practitioners when LGBTQ+ veterans face care denials by colleagues, though no evidence of such denials was cited.
By January 27, 2025, under President Donald Trump, the VA began dismantling these DEI efforts. 'Under President Trump, VA is laser-focused on providing the best possible care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors,' said VA Director of Media Affairs Morgan Ackley. 'We are proud to have abandoned the divisive DEI policies of the past and pivot back to VA’s core mission.'
Since then, under Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, the agency has reduced spending by $14 million on DEI initiatives and training. It remains unclear whether the 2024 recommendations were implemented or what measures the new leadership has taken to halt the process.
