All of us in our Agency’s leadership team believe very deeply that NASA’s most important asset is our people. It matters to us intrinsically that we reach for new heights not only in aeronautics and space, but also in how we treat one another, advance the cause of equal opportunity, and make NASA an inclusive, cooperative, and safe working environment worthy of the recognition we’ve received as the #1 best place to work in the federal government. This is the right thing to do; and it’s the right way to manage for results.
Today, Administrator Bolden sent a letter to institutions receiving NASA grants to remind them that “any behavior that demeans or discourages people from fully participating is unacceptable.” Specifically, it reminds our partners that NASA does not tolerate sexual harassment: not at our own Agency and not at any of our partner institutions.
To quote from Administrator Bolden’s letter: We view an inclusive working environment “not as ‘something nice to do’ if the time can be spared, or something that human resources or the diversity and equity offices are responsible for, but rather as an integral and indeed necessary aspect of all educational program environments.”
I encourage you to visit the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity’s website at odeo.hq.nasa.gov to learn more about our work to make NASA a model agency for equal opportunity and diversity.