How can employers contribute to creating an LGBTI+ friendly workplace? That was the question that Forum Magazine from employer organization VNO-NCW posed to Remco Boxelaar, Remke Verdegem, Jelle Weever, Marion Mulder, Stefan Twigt and me. See here for some concrete tips for inspiration.
D&I Measurement for Impact
It is of crucial importance that organizations determine the effectiveness of their diversity and inclusion policy. But how to go about it?
To help organizations on their way, we created a handout with concrete recommendations: 'Measuring for Impact'. In this handout, we summarize the scientific insights and provide concrete guidelines for how organizations can measure the effectiveness of their D&I initiatives (preview video).
Proud and excited to join the EU COST project on LGBTI+ social and economic (in)equalities
I feel extremely privileged to serve on the Management Committee of the EU funded COST Association - European Cooperation in Science and Technology () project on LGBTI+ Social and Economic (in)equalities. I look forward to many fruitful collaborations across Europe and beyond, together with this smart and inspiring group of academic experts!
Op-ed in Dutch Daily with our perspective on coming out at work
Despite the net positive effect of being open about one's sexual orientation, coming out at work is a complex and continuous process. In this op-ed in Dutch Daily Het Parool, Michiel Kolman and I argue for a more realistic perspective on Coming Out at work and emphasize the importance of an inclusive work climate. Organizations can and should do more to create work environments where everyone feels that they belong and can be themselves.
Bookpresentation "De Inclusiemarathon"
Last night, I was very happy to attend the presentation of the excellent book “De inclusiemarathon” by Kauthar Bouchallikht and Zoë Papaikonomou at the House of Watt. For this book, they interviewed 41 diversity professionals and researchers about their knowledge and experiences in the field of diversity and inclusion, including my PhD student Onur Sahin. “The Inclusion Marathon is a revealing book about the persistent lack of diversity and equality within many organizations, but also a constructive, concrete story about how organizations can become more diverse, more equal and more inclusive.”
Proud to be a SCOOP fellow
As of August 2021, I am officially a fellow for the Sustainable Cooperation Program (SCOOP). I look forward to connect and collaborate with researchers from several disciplines and universities.
“SCOOP is a research and training centre dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of sustainable cooperation as a key feature of resilient societies. The centre connects research groups from sociology, psychology, history, philosophy, public administration, research methods, and statistics. SCOOP is a joint initiative by the University of Groningen (Strategic Theme Sustainable Society) and Utrecht University (Strategic Theme Institutions for Open Societies), and also involves researchers from the VU Amsterdam, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Radboud University Nijmegen.”
Organizations risk revolving door effect
In September 2021, we presented the conclusions from the comparative research our team at Utrecht University conducted on organizational efforts toward an inclusive work climate, in collaboration with the Netherlands Inclusiveness Monitor and SER Diversity in Practice. In order to prevent a revolving door effect, organizations should pay more attention to the promotion and retention of employees. To support organizations, we created a practical handout on formulating SMART goals.
The right thing to do or the smart thing to do?
Many organizations have diversity statements in place in which they publicly declare their appreciation of and commitment to workforce diversity. In this, some organizations place the focus on business motives, whereas others primarily emphasize moral motives. To support and motivate organizations in developing evidence-based diversity policy, we created a factsheet with a summary of the findings. For more details, check out the academic publication.
Continued support by the Goldschmeding Foundation
I am very grateful that the Goldschmeding Foundation decided to extend their support of our project “It has to work: Inclusion in the labor market through synergy of science and practice”, a collaboration between our research group at Utrecht University, SER Diversity in Practice and the Netherlands Inclusivity Monitor. After a fruitful first year, in which we investigated how diverse and inclusive Dutch organisations are and how they can continue to develop their D&I policy, this coming year we will focus on support for D&I policy in organizations. We are looking forward to the year ahead.
A report with findings from our first analyses, can be found here
A handout with insights and practical tips can be found here
Dialogue and Exchange at the LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Conference at Leiden University
On May 20th and 21st, Gaitho Waruguru and I hosted the LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Conference at Leiden University in collaboration with the Workplace Pride Foundation.
The aim of the conference was to showcase the state of the art of research on LGBTQI+ workplace inclusion, to contribute to building a diverse platform of researchers, and to facilitate the dialogue between scientists, advocates, policymakers, employers, and employees.
The conference featured keynote speeches by Dr. Lee Badgett (UMass Amherst) and Yvonne Muthoni (Kenya Open for Business), several multi-disciplinary academic sessions, as well as focused panel sessions that brought together researchers, employers, employees, practitioners and policymakers around topics relevant to LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion, including but not limited to the challenges and opportunities that LGBTQI+ people experience in the areas of training, recruitment, selection, promotion and retention, the policies and regulations affecting these areas, as well as promising interventions and solutions.
We look back on a very exciting and insightful conference, thanks to the great contributions of our speakers, panelists and audience members from all over the world!
A visual recap of the conference by cartoonist Suus van den Akker is provided below, and a short article summarizing the first conference day is available here
