The NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal

• Time Period: Post-WW2
• Institution: ?
• Country: United States

The NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal is a prestigious NASA medal awarded to both Government and non-Government individuals for outstanding achievement and material contribution to the principles and goals of NASA’s equal employment opportunity, diversity, and inclusion programs, either within the Government or within community organizations or groups.

The criteria are as follows:

• achievements are clearly superior in quality, scope, and impact, and
• achievements are explicit and demonstrate significant results.

Outstanding achievement and material contributions to EEO can be demonstrated in a number of ways, such as:

• Creating or promoting a work environment that is accessible and welcoming to employees with disabilities (e.g., initiated a transportation network that assists employees with disabilities commute to work).
• Leading recruitment efforts to nontraditional sources to expand the demographic diversity of the applicant pool (e.g., established a relationship with a Historically Black College or Tribal College that resulted in more diverse Co-op students).
• Consistently participating in programs that help ensure mentoring or coaching for members of underrepresented groups in the organization.
• Leading cultural awareness or education events for employees.
• Initiating outreach events for underrepresented groups in the community.
• Volunteering to speak or conducting workshops at national conferences such as Black Engineer of the Year Award, Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, etc.
• Consistently utilizes summer interns from diverse cultures, including interns with disabilities.

Outstanding achievement and material contributions to diversity and inclusion can be demonstrated in a number of ways, such as:

• Creating an inclusive work environment where employees are engaged, valued, and respected and their talents are fully utilized, for example, by championing the Agency’s Diversity and Inclusion Policy within the organization and considering and including goals of diversity and inclusion in all organizational planning.
• Leading diversity and inclusion dialogues, and educational opportunities and encouraging employees to participate in diversity and inclusion dialogues, surveys, and training and educational opportunities.
• Recognizing and rewarding employees for commitment to diversity and inclusion, for example as part of their performance planning and evaluation, and in nominations for leadership programs and awards.
• Actively assuring conflicts within the organization are resolved in a positive and constructive manner, for example, by taking a leadership role in the NASA Conflict Management Program training.

Contributions that were overlooked at the time they occurred are also considered.