Dissertation defense Dr. Miriam Wickham

Last Friday, Miriam Wickham defended her dissertation entitled "Square Peg in a Round Hole. Gender Beyond the Binary" at Utrecht University. It was an insightful and inspiring defense, with a good dose of humor (from both the candidate and the committee). In this interesting and thought-provoking dissertation, Miriam provides much-needed insight into the psychological factors relevant to the societal move away from the gender binary by providing convincing evidence debunking common assumptions (1) that the gender binary is helpful, either as a cognitive heuristic or as a way for us to identify with one another, and (2) that it is natural, in that it is upheld by something innate to humans. I much recommend requesting a copy.

Dissertation defense Dr. Onur Şahin

Last Friday, Onur Şahin became Dr. Onur Şahin by successfully defending his dissertation on the relationship between dissimilarity and social inclusion in the workplace. A true milestone on his journey along Academia Road. How fortunate I was to accompany him on this journey as colleague and supervisor, together with Dr. Wiebren Jansen and Naomi Ellemers.

Onur will start a highly coveted position as researcher for the State committee against discrimination and racism next month so stay tuned, as there is certainly more to come!

LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium

“For us to solve these deeply culturally entrenched problems, we have to restructure the very idea of what it means to be a professional”
- Dr. Erin Cech (University of Michigan)

This quote nicely summarizes the key message of last week’s LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium at Leiden University, marking the opening of the Academia@WorkplacePride year.

The symposium was opened by Michiel Kolman, Workplace Pride co-chair and Academia@WorkplacePride Lead who highlighted the increasing importance of bridging science and practice given the worrying trends in lgbtiq+ acceptance near and far.

In her keynote, Erin A. Cech provided an overview of the various ways that LGBTIQ+ inequality can show up in the workplace: disadvantages can emerge not only in feelings of social marginalization, but in a lack of professional respect and opportunities and even negative health and wellness outcomes. She discussed the kinds of work contexts that can amplify or undermine these inequalities, using the science and tech sector as a case, and ended by discussing the cultural “rhetorics of resistance” that employees and organization leaders sometimes use to block LGBTIQ+-inclusive diversification efforts and strategies for confronting those rhetorics.

In my keynote, I further discussed the implications of heteronormativity at work by discussing the concept of heteroprofessionalism, or the norm that to be professional is to be cisgender and straight. I presented recent research findings demonstrating how disclosing a queer identity can be a double-edged sword, with disclosure perceived as unprofessional while concealment is seen as dishonest. I also addressed the specific challenges experienced by bi+ employees, and what can be done to mitigate these.

Then, a panel consisting of Melati Tamsma, Pascale Wautelet, and Roos Beerkens PhD, and moderated by Kshitij Mor reflected on the keynotes, offering insights and examples from their diverse workplaces.

Many thanks to the audience for participating in the symposium, the speakers, moderator, and panelists for sharing their insights, and Christine Holtkamp, Chenhao Zhou and Paula Hoffmann for their tireless efforts behind the scenes towards making the symposium a success!

Did you miss the symposium this year? A recording can be found here under the Live Stream Recording tab.

Inclusion and protection in tension: Reflections on gathering sexual orientation and gender identity data in the workplace

Should organizations collect data on the sexual orientation and gender identity of employees? A question I often get asked and one that deserves a nuanced answer.

Read about it now in our latest article (published open-access in the Journal of Social Issues) on the tension between employee inclusion and protection in relation to gathering sexual orientation and gender identity data in the workplace (including practical recommendations and examples from Workplace Pride member organizations)!

"While data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity in workplaces can enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and elevate the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) employees, challenges include the risk of discrimination, privacy concerns, and linguistic complexities." " In this article, we address the complex issue of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection in workplaces, highlighting the intricate balance between fostering inclusion and mitigating potential harm and exclusion. This tension manifests uniquely across diverse cultural, legal, and organizational settings. We review existing literature, offer practical guidance for decision-makers, and outline future research avenues."

In collaboration with the wonderful Sofia E. Bracco, Waruguru Gaitho, William Ryan, Sharon Horne, Joel Anderson, and Emily Leskinen.

You can read the article here.

Bi+ inclusion in the workplace often overlooked

“The government and businesses have a joint objective and Pride Amsterdam is the moment to adjust ambitions. For a truly inclusive labor market, specific attention is needed for every individual letter of the acronym, in particular for the b of bi+.'“

Opinion piece (based on facts) in collaboration with Michiel Kolman published in Volkskrant today.

Photo by Joris van Gennip/ Volkskrant

Register now for the LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium

Registration is now open for the LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium on September 5th at Leiden University. I look forward to seeing you there!



5 SEPTEMBER 2024
LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium

Unlock the power of inclusivity at this year’s LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium, featuring keynote presentations by dr. Erin Cech (University of Michigan, USA) and me delving into the latest cutting-edge research on LGBTIQ+ inclusion.

Location: Telders Auditorium
Address: Rapenburg 73, Leiden
Date: September 5th, 2024
Registration: 10:00 - 10:30
Symposium: 10:30 - 12:00
Coffee & Tea: 12:00 - 13:00

In addition to the keynotes, a panel including researchers and D&I professionals from the public and private sector will reflect on the research findings and recommendations, and share concrete examples of how organizations can build inclusive environments. Connect with fellow attendees over coffee and tea, fostering meaningful relationships with like-minded individuals committed to driving positive change in their respective organizations. Join us in this critical dialogue to make a difference and foster a workplace where everyone can belong and bring their authentic selves.

View the full program here.

Registration
The event is in-person but will be streamed and recorded for those not able to attend. Please register here.

Organisers
This event is organised by me in collaboration with Academia@WorkplacePride. We can be contacted at lgbtqi.inclusion@gmail.com

Accessibility
We would like the symposium to be accessible to everyone. We hope the absence of a participation fee and the possibility to view a live stream contribute to this. Please note that the symposium location is wheelchair accessible. We will make sure to ask the speakers to articulate clearly. We very much welcome your suggestions for how we can be more inclusive.

General LGBTQI+-policy is not enough

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of presenting the conclusions and recommendations from our recent study on bi+ individuals in the workplace at the D&I network event hosted by Bi+ Netherlands. The event was filled with such positive energy! I gained invaluable insights from the other speakers, the panel discussions, and the networking conversations. A highlight of the event was the captivating mini photo exhibition depicting the work lives of bi+ people. This traveling exhibition is available for booking at your workplace, and I highly recommend it.

The exploration and handout can be found on the Bi+ Netherlands website.

Photo’s by Lera Manzovitova

Summit grant for our research consortium proposal “Social Cohesion: Towards a New Fabric of Society”

Still stunned but incredibly grateful that our research consortium proposal “Social Cohesion: Towards a New Fabric of Society” has been awarded a Summit grant by the Dutch Research Council.

Covering a ten-year period, this unique award in the amount of 30 million euro’s, allows our research consortium to make real scientific impact on a topic that is so clearly relevant to our societies and citizens whose stability and well-being is increasingly threatened by fragmenting communities and polarizing groups.

SOCION is an interdisciplinary project connecting researchers from psychology, history, philosophy, demography, and sociology to better understand how shared values, group processes, and social provisions can connect individuals, groups, and institutions. We focus on complex and multiple connections within society, exploring how to strengthen ties between certain individuals, groups, or institutions without weakening or breaking these ties elsewhere.

Importantly, we will be closely collaborating with societal stakeholders in the design and execution of this research by utilizing existing and new knowledge alliances.

This afternoon at the award ceremony, we celebrated this incredible achievement. Tomorrow, we will get to work!

Read more here and here

Making impact on D&I

To make an impact on diversity and inclusion, D&I-policies should be more deeply anchored into the core activities of the organization and should be translated to the different organizational levels and what is expected of people there. This demands a deeper understanding of how policy affects the workplace and employees and requires a procedural approach. In our new handout “Making an impact on diversity and inclusion”, we present our collective vision on making impact on D&I to support organizations with the effective implementation of their policy.

Read more here.

You can download the handout here.

The handout and insights are a result of the project “Het moet wel werken. Inclusie op de arbeidsmarkt door synergie tussen wetenschap en praktijk", a collaboration between Utrecht University, SER Diversiteit in Bedrijf and InclusieNL, made possible by the Goldschmeding Foundation.

Design by Leanna McAlpine.

Bi+ inclusion at work: English translations available now!

Recently my team at Leiden University and researchers at Bi+ Nederland mapped out the experiences of bi+ people at work and provided insight into promising approaches to increasing bi+ inclusion at work. The exploration was carried out through an extensive literature study and interviews with bi+ people and experts.

Conclusions and recommendations were summarized in a report and practical guide for employers. These are now also available in English here.