NOAA’s Equity Framework

On October 28, 2024, NOAA released its first-ever Equity Framework. The Framework is designed to facilitate a common and deeper understanding across NOAA’s workforce of how to make equity a central part of NOAA's mission of science, service and stewardship, as well as mission support functions.

The vulnerability of our nation’s communities to climate and other environmental changes is magnified by stark disparities borne by centuries of unjust public policy — and that historically underserved populations face these vulnerabilities at significantly higher rates than others. That’s why NOAA has made it a top priority to strengthen support for historically underserved communities, while building a workplace that fosters inclusion and belonging, and a workforce that reflects the diversity of the American people.

“This first-ever NOAA Equity Framework provides an important tool to deepen NOAA’s understanding of and commitment to equity,” said Deputy NOAA Administrator Jainey Bavishi. “It enables us, individually and collectively, to accelerate our work as an agency to operationalize equity in everything we do.”

Building on NOAA’s Equity Commitment released last February, the Equity Framework includes the “external” work of advancing equitable outcomes through our mission. This work includes outlining NOAA’s vision of ensuring that historically underserved communities can fully participate in and benefit from the Agency’s extensive scientific resources, environmental services and decision-making processes, as well as the “internal” work of creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace to enhance NOAA’s ability to deliver our mission.

The Framework also highlights how NOAA can achieve equity through seven dimensions that, combined together, develop an approach that enable the Agency to embed equity across all of its work:

1. Organizational culture: Build a culture of equity at NOAA that can harness learning from our differences and transform what we learn into increased effectiveness.
2. Policies: Institutionalize the consideration of equity in NOAA’s policies, processes, programs and budgets. 
3. Training: Invest in training to normalize equity for leadership, staff, contractors and advisory boards at NOAA.
4. Recruitment, hiring and retention: Set performance goals for representation in NOAA’s workforce and create accountability to those goals.
5. Community engagement: Build trusting relationships with, and center the priorities of, historically underserved communities and tribal communities in NOAA’s work.
6. Research and data: Make equity — and specifically, practices of avoiding explicit and implicit biases in research and data collection — a core feature of how NOAA views scientific integrity.
7. Products and services: Prioritize access, usability and relevance of NOAA’s products, services and funding opportunities for historically underserved communities and tribal communities.

In addition to the Equity Framework, NOAA adopted core values in October 2024 to serve as underlying tenets and cultural cornerstones that will guide the Agency’s work and workplace culture.

"The Equity Framework is deeply grounded in our core values - inclusion, innovation, and integrity. These values are foundational to how we collaborate and uphold the highest standards of accountability and trust," said NOAA Administrator Dr. Rick Spinrad. "By embedding equity into the fabric of NOAA’s work, we are taking intentional steps to operationalize these principles to promote lasting, meaningful change."

Read the entire Equity Framework here.