The Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the largest employers of women and employs a highly diverse workforce that is representative of the Nation's diversity make up. VA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and an Affirmative Employment employer. These government-initiated programs prohibit discrimination and require analysis of gender, race, and ethnicity data to identify and eliminate any barriers to full participation of all diverse groups in the workforce.

Diversity also refers to our initiatives that ensure everyone's differences are valued and respected. In turn, these initiatives bring about an inclusive, productive work environment that drives our organizational growth and fuels employees' potential.

The Undersecretary for Health's Diversity Advisory Board advises the Undersecretary for Health and key VA senior management on issues of diversity within the workplace and the health care environment as a whole, thus ensuring VA is an employer of choice and a provider of high quality and culturally competent care. The Advisory Board seeks to:

• Increase awareness, sensitivity, and skill in diversity management in the VA workforce through dissemination and coordination of information.
• Serve as a resource to VA managers to design, promote, enhance, and integrate diversity into business processes.
• Help identify culturally competent practice challenge areas and support the deployment of resources to address these identified areas.
• Propose programs/initiatives to address identified challenges and change paradigms for employee and patient issues.
• Promote, formalize, and maintain relationships with internal and community organizations/programs to enhance VA workforce diversity.

Visit the Diversity Advisory Board's Web site to learn more about VA's diversity initiatives, including the REACH for Diversity Campaign and Toolkit, VAluing Diversity Newsletter, and the Diversity Awards Program.