Inclusivity at NIST: 

Recent actions supporting equity 

in career advancement at NIST
>32,000 SRM units sold per year ($20M)

~13,000 calibrations and tests per year

Safe and Inclusive Research Environments: 

A National Priority 

“To advance S&T progress and ensure 

maximum return on taxpayer investment 

in R&D, the laboratory, the factory, the 

field, and any other setting where R&D is 

performed must welcome all individuals 

without prejudice and enable them to 

work safely, efficiently, ethically, and with 

respect, consistent with the American 

values of free inquiry, competition, 

openness, and fairness.”

Fiscal Year 2021 Administration R&D Budget 

Priorities Memo, Aug. 30, 2019 High-priority area: Creating safe and 

inclusive research environments 

White House National Science and Technology Council

Safe and Inclusive Research Environments Subcommittee meeting 
NIST Core Values

Excellence: We apply rigor and critical thinking to achieve world-class 

results and continuous improvement in everything we do.

Integrity: We are ethical, honest, independent, and objective.

Inclusivity: We work collaboratively. We value diversity of people and 

ideas to attain the best solutions to multidisciplinary challenges. 

Perseverance: We take the long view. We use science and imagination 

to create positive impacts for our stakeholders.

3
Preliminary Data – Call to Action 

Early analysis by NIST staff Schwarz and Miner indicated: 

1.Lack of representation of women and minorities among 

senior scientific and engineering leadership positions 

2.STEM (ZP) women and minorities promoted at a lower 

rate compared to their peers 
Gender Diversity in NIST’s S&T Workforce

ZP III/IV ~ 1 in 4 women

ZP V: ~ 1 in 6 women

ADLP SES & Deputy Directors: ~ 1 in 9 women

STs & Fellows: ~ 1 in 11 women

Data presented in NIST July 2018

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V

2000 2005 2010 2015

Women Men

At all points in time, women make up a smaller share of the 

higher pay bands 
Minority Representation in NIST’s S&T Workforce

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V ZP-III ZP-IV ZP-V

2000 2005 2010 2015

Minority Non-Minority

At all points in time, minorities make up a smaller share of the 

higher pay bands 

Data presented in NIST July 2018

ZP III/IV ~ 1 in 5 minorities

ZP V: ~ 1 in 8 minorities

ADLP SES & Deputy Directors: ~ 1 in 9 minorities

STs & Fellows: ~ 1 in 11 minorities
Preliminary Data – Call to Action 

Scientists and 

managers 

deliver memo 

to ADLP

Jan 

2018

ADLP 

establishes 

Steering 

Group for 

Equity in 

Career 

Advancement

Mar 

2018

Kickoff event 

featuring 

outside 

experts

Jun 

2018

Data gathering 

and analysis 

continues

ongoing
Building Inclusivity Through Equity 

Steering Group for Equity in Career Advancement 

• Representatives from across NIST – career laboratory staff, 

managers, HR and Civil Rights and Diversity Office

• Key advisor to NIST Director and Associate Director for 

Laboratory Programs 

8

The mission of the Steering Group is to 

identify the causes of apparent inequities in 

promotions at NIST for women and minority 

researchers and make recommendations. 
SGECA Actions to Date 

Created additional training and staff 

engagement opportunities 

Developed and shared new data

analysis tools and other best practices

Advised NIST Director and ADLP on 

promotion criteria, inclusivity summit, 

and more 

Established external contract and 

internal detailees to conduct datadriven investigations
Additional Training Offered 

10

Partnership with SGECA, Office of Human Resources Management, and Civil Rights 

and Diversity Office. Sample courses: 

“What’s your 

Micro Trigger”

“Generations in 

the Workplace”

“Recruiting 

Through a 

Diversity Lens”

“Unconscious 

Bias”

“Building Trust in 

the Workplace”

“Assertiveness and 

Influencing Skills”
Engaging Staff 

11

Equity Cafes 

Informal, structured staff discussions of 

challenges and opportunities for promoting 

equity and inclusion 

1. What does a NIST with good equity in career 

advancement look like? 

2. What can staff members do to achieve this vision?

3. What can leaders do to inspire and enable staff to 

achieve this vision? 
Equity-NIST Vision

Equity Café March 7, 2019, 

NIST Boulder

12

• Hiring and promotion practices feel fair; selection 

criteria are transparent 

• Paths for career advancement are creative and 

dynamic, and include mentoring and training 

programs

Equity Café December 13, 2018, NIST Gaithersburg

• Opportunities for career advancement are 

clearly/broadly communicated 

• We make the effort to be aware of and 

minimize biases 

• The workforce is diverse, and a pool of 

diverse ideas benefits the organization 
Inclusivity Summit 

April 30, 2019 

Advised NIST Director and senior staff on 

leadership summit centered on NIST core 

value of inclusivity 

• Director Copan reinforced the importance of 

inclusivity and the role of managers and 

supervisors

• Featured invited speaker Dr. Freeman 

Hrabowski, President of University of 

Maryland Baltimore County 

• Interactive panel discussion with leaders of a 

variety of NIST affinity and community groups 
Ongoing Data-Driven Efforts to Advance Equity 

External Contract to conduct “STEM 

Equity Disparity and Resolution to 

Known Equity Disparity” 

• University of Oregon will analyze career 

advancement process for STEM disciplines 

• Identify critical factors in promotion 

disparity, including causes and trends 

• Develop sustainable approaches, methods, 

and models that can be replicated and/or 

built upon by NIST 

• Final presentation targeted April 2021 

Dr. Geraldine Richmond 

Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of 

Chemistry at the University of Oregon, member of 

the National Academy of Sciences and a National 

Medal of Science Laureate. Founding and current 

director of COACh, a grassroots organization based 

out of UO with mission to increase the number and 

success of women and underrepresented groups in 

science and engineering. 

Dr. Celeste Rohlfing

COACh board member and senior executive with broad experience in 

federal agencies, nonprofits, and national laboratories. 

Ms. Priscilla Lewis

COACh coordinator. 

Dr. Jean Stockard

Professor Emerita at UO and senior research director for COACh. 

Mathematics and sociology expertise, author on equity issues. 

About the team: 

Other team members include Dr. Pamela Cook, UNIDEL Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the 

University of Delaware; Dr. Mary Silber, Professor in the Statistics Department at the University of 

Chicago; Dr. Jane Tucker, Principal at J. Tucker Associates; Dr. Barbara Butterfield, Senior Consultant at 

Sibson; and Ms. Ernestine Taylor, Principal at ET Consulting and Executive Coaching.
Ongoing Data-Driven Efforts to Advance Equity 

Rotational Assignments to 

Study Equity, Diversity and 

Inclusion 

• All NIST staff invited to apply for 

opportunity to spend up to one 

year on detail to NIST Associate 

Director of Laboratory Programs 

• Pilot effort is partnership 

between SGECA, Office of 

Human Resources 

Management, and ADLP 

• Nine proposals received from 

staff in Boulder, Charleston, and 

Gaithersburg 

NIST computer scientist Mary Theofanos 

Project: “Assess the Inclusivity of Women 

at NIST” 

NIST materials scientist Laura Espinal 

Project: “Inclusivity Network Analysis as a First 

Step to Harness Human and Social Capital for 

Innovation at NIST” 
Snapshot of Supporting Activities 

MML-developed methodology working with 

ORHM to analyze salary and promotion data 

Data helps inform leadership – what actions to 

take and how (and where) to start

Other NIST laboratories building on this 

approach 

Salary Analysis by 

Laboratory Division/ Group

Bystander Training for 

Scientific Workplaces 

Working with USGS scientists to bring their 

training to NIST 

Targets scientific workplaces and empowers 

staff to use bystander intervention techniques 

Management-team as well as open training 

sessions 
Recognition 

Winner of OSA Foundation’s “Diversity and Inclusion 

Advocacy Recognition” 

(Award ceremony September 2019) 

NIST steering group recognized for 

“having significant results within the 

agency and is an excellent a model for 

other agencies, companies and 

Award recipients with OSA President Ursula Gibson universities”
1 2

3 4

Next Steps 

Follow up on issues from Equity Cafes

• Transparency in pay setting practices/policies

• Multidirectional reviews for managers

• Managers as advocates for career advancement

Communication & Information Sharing

Continued Data Gathering & Analysis Staff Engagement & Training 

• Share best practices

• Infuse knowledge throughout NIST

• External contract

• ADLP detailee projects

• OU-level studies

• Additional training opportunities 

• Coordinate with NIST community groups
Questions for VCAT 

• What leading best practices to ensure an equitable workforce should 

NIST be using? 

• How do you ensure accountability to these best practices in your 

organization? 

• What are the best indicators for progress in equity?

• Is there something that we should be doing and are not? Did we miss 

anything?