June 1, 2021

by Treava Hopkins-Laboy

I am delighted to celebrate Pride Month with the NIH community. We in the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) invite you to join us in this opportunity to appreciate the contributions made by sexual and gender minority (SGM) staff who enhance the diversity of the NIH workforce. We assert that the diversity of employees at the NIH inspires innovation in pursuing our mission of fostering an environment “where diverse talent is leveraged to advance health discovery.” We understand and appreciate that members of the SGM community have long been working to contribute to excellence at the NIH and have been committed to the work of advancing the frontiers of health research while encouraging all of us with their examples of resilience.

EDI’s 2021 Pride theme, Allyship in Action, offers pronoun usage as one of the several ways we can each demonstrate our support for many included under the SGM umbrella. Since allies are critical in creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace, it is EDI’s role to assist the NIH community in better understanding how to effectively support all employees, patients, and visitors.

The Allyship in Action online campaign will highlight the importance of pronouns and provide resources for understanding how to use them in email signatures. Other resources will explain more sensitive gender-neutral language options. EDI has found Twitter chats to be an effective tool—particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic—to build a stronger sense of community, learn from each other, and provide a safe space for meaningful dialogue. EDI will be co-hosting a Twitter chat to discuss these issues with community members and allies from across many of the NIH Institutes and Centers using #NIHPronounAlly. Additionally, EDI will be collaborating with Salutaris, the NIH SGM Employee Resource Group, to host a presentation by Dr. Erin A. Cech, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on research in the most extensive study of barriers for LGBTQ professionals in STEM on June 23rd from 1:00-2:00 pm. The event will offer the opportunity to learn more about her data on the workplace challenges of thousands of US-based SGM researchers, implications, and ways to make improvements for the future, and will include a Q&A session with the NIH community.

We welcome you to join us this year for Pride Month as we continue to build an inclusive workplace that recognizes and appreciates the skills, talents, and abilities of all NIH employees and welcoming and respecting our unique perspectives and identities. Please visit the EDI Pride 2021 page to join us in celebrating Pride Month and to learn more about the campaign, other information about the SGM community, and the work of EDI. Sign up to attend one of our Safe Zone sessions. For more information about the SGM Portfolio, please contact Bali White in EDI's Special Emphasis Portfolio Branch at bali.white@nih.gov. We also welcome you to our EDI SGM Portfolio page and invite you to follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Happy Pride,Treava Hopkins-Laboy (she, her, hers)

Treava Hopkins-Laboy
Acting Director
Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
National Institutes of Health

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, subscribe or follow EDI on: Twitter, Instagram, Blog, YouTube.