Dear Colleagues,

The National Institutes of Health is a noble enterprise driven by a mission to help and serve humanity.  The contributions of each and every member of our community are vital to successfully improving people’s health and reducing the burden of disease.  An environment where people feel welcome, respected, and valued is a necessary condition for our employees to contribute to their fullest potential.

In alignment with this, the NIH is dedicated to ensuring our workplace is free from discrimination, including workplace harassment.  Any form of discrimination, including sexual harassment, will not be tolerated.  It is our policy to provide every individual with an equal opportunity in employment programs and occupational activities across all aspects of personnel operations, which include recruitment, staffing, training, awards, reorganizations, promotions, and more.

Each member of our community has a responsibility to ensure that all employees and applicants for employment experience employment decisions free from unlawful discrimination. Employment decisions are not to be made based on color, race, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), age, disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, military service, sexual orientation, or reprisal based on prior equal employment opportunity (EEO) protected activity.

The NIH is firmly committed to equal employment opportunity, diversity, and inclusion.  As the Director of the NIH, I reaffirm our dedication to these principles and ask you to join me in this commitment.  All of us play a role in affirming one another and making the NIH an employer of choice, where all are wanted and treated with dignity and respect as part of our day-to-day service.

For guidance, please contact the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at http://edi.nih.gov or 301-496-6301.

Sincerely yours,

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