Matrix Points to Workplace Resources
Are you eligible for child care services at NIH? Can you participate in the Transhare program? What leave options can you use for family services?
For many, finding the answers to these questions can be confusing and time-consuming. While NIH offers many programs designed to promote the health and well-being of its workforce, eligibility for each program can differ based on an individual’s employment status. To reduce the difficulties that many face when attempting to identify available resources or their eligibility for those resources, the women’s employment committee, a trans-NIH committee formed by the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, created the NIH Workforce Resource Eligibility Matrix.
Sarah Williams, chair of the WEC, said, “We all have a strong interest in ensuring that women at NIH are given an equal opportunity to succeed in whatever career path they have chosen. The NIH has already invested so much into providing resources for those who need them, and people are still making unnecessary sacrifices, because they just don’t know that these resources exist. Or, even worse, they are aware of a resource but do not know if they can utilize it. We felt a responsibility to raise awareness about these programs and eligibility in order to alleviate the pressures that all employees face when balancing our personal lives with our careers.”
Working with the Office of Human Resources, WEC consulted with experts in each program area and consolidated the eligibility information into a single document. To use the matrix, at http://1.usa.gov/1VPQxc4, individuals can find their employee type along the top row and review the corresponding column to identify which of the supportive programs and resources, listed along the left hand column, that they are eligible for. For more information about a particular program, each resource listed in the left hand column includes a link to that program’s web page. For those unsure about what employee category they belong to, the second page of the matrix includes descriptions of each employee type. All information contained in the matrix is also available in a text version.
If you believe that a portion of the matrix is inaccurate or requires an update, contact the WEC at edi.women@nih.gov.