Dear NIH Family:

NIH is proud to recognize June as Pride Month. We acknowledge and appreciate the members of the Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) community who have worked diligently to contribute to NIH’s excellence and to advance the frontiers of health research, while encouraging all of us by their examples of resilience. At NIH, we strive every day to create an atmosphere where all individuals are afforded equal access to a safe and positive work environment. We remain committed to the principles of ensuring equal employment opportunity and embracing diversity in our research and workplace.

Please join our Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and guest speaker Sharon Milgram, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Intramural Training & Education, on June 20 in Natcher Conference Center Balcony C from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., for “Pride in the Diversity of NIH,” as well as our first SGM Community & Ally Leader Award program.

During this inaugural awards program, EDI will honor NIH employees and fellows nominated for their exemplary work as researchers advancing the frontiers of SGM research, their inspiration as members of the SGM community encouraging others by their example, or their leadership as allies demonstrating fairness, compassion, and understanding toward the SGM community.

EDI is dedicated to promoting awareness and education to address the needs and concerns of underrepresented populations within the NIH workforce, including those who are SGM. EDI leads us in our endeavor to foster an environment where diverse talent is leveraged to advance health discovery. It is EDI’s role to help us better understand how to effectively recruit, retain, and support employees from these communities. We affirm that promoting inclusive messages and practices into our work environment helps engender scientific discovery and affirms the intrinsic value of human life and the dignity of every human being. You can learn more about the SGM community by attending one of our Safe Zone Sessions, and learn more about NIH’s SGM-related research by visiting the SGM Research Office’s website.

Please also take time to visit the EDI Pride 2019 page to learn more and to join us in celebrating Pride Month. For more information about Pride and other EDI 365 events, visit EDI’s SGM portfolio page. You can also follow EDI on Twitter and Instagram.

Sincerely yours,

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director

Do you have a story idea for us? Do you want to submit a guest blog? If it's about equity, diversity, or inclusion, please submit to edi.stories@nih.gov.

For news, updates, and videos, follow or subscribe to EDI on: Twitter, Instagram, Blog, YouTube.