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About IES: IES Diversity Statement

IES was established by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA – P.L. 107-279), in part to improve academic achievement and access to educational opportunities for all students. In carrying out this mission, IES takes steps to ensure that our work is carried out in a manner that is free of racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias.

All IES work benefits from diverse perspectives. Our ability to conduct and support high-quality research, collect and disseminate timely data, and evaluate the impact of educational policy and practice depends on our ability to attract, train, partner with, and support talented researchers, statisticians, and evaluators from all backgrounds. IES leadership strongly believes this demands a commitment to the many facets of human diversity that shape our lives, including age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, culture, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, and socioeconomic status.

While the science of diversity is complex, a growing body of research suggests that diversity can improve performance in areas such as productivity, problem-solving, and innovation. We also believe that our commitment to diversity enhances public trust, helps ensure that our work is free of bias, and increases the likelihood that everyone will participate in and benefit from IES-funded work.

The IES portfolio of work offers examples of various ways this commitment translates into action. Read about recent examples below.

Preparing a diverse research workforce

Grantmaking for diversity

Research, data collection, and analysis

Hiring and Staffing in IES

IES maintains the same commitment to diversity in hiring as our parent agency, the U.S. Department of Education. In practice, this means we "do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, marital status or political affiliation." We also take seriously the idea that our work benefits from a genuine commitment to diversity, by considering applications from individuals representing all kinds of backgrounds. If you are interested in working at IES, please consider our current openings for Education Research Scientists and Associate Education Research Scientists.