Keith’s note: How is NASA going to achieve all of its forward-leaning diversity goals if the states where the bulk of its activities are conducted (Florida, Texas, Alabama) – and where their work force lives – seem to go out of their way to thwart the intent of these efforts? Large numbers of space industry workers run the risk of not being welcome there as they pursue the dream of exploring space. I have no answers. But I am pointing this issue out whenever I see it. According to “Anti-Trans Laws Force Engineer to Quit Job Helping NASA With Moon Missions“ published in Futurism, “As electrical engineer Robin Witt told The Stranger, Florida’s increasingly extreme anti-transgender laws left Witt, a transgender woman, no choice but to quit her job at a NASA-contracted engineering firm called ERC — a heartwrenching decision that, according to Witt, cost her a lifelong dream. … And though NASA might be putting diversity at the public center of its Artemis missions, it seems that the less-visible folks behind the Artemis rockets and other missions – one of whom, in this case, was forced to choose between their human rights and their dream role – are getting left behind.” More below

NASA Releases Equity Action Plan to Make Space More Accessible to All, NASA
“At NASA, all of our missions depend on our steadfast commitment to equal opportunity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The Equity Action plan deepens our commitment to further identify and remove the barriers that limit opportunity in underserved and underrepresented communities. This framework anchors fairness as a core component in every NASA mission to make the work we do in space and beyond more accessible to all.”