Coming Out Day is an international day of awareness and respect for LGBTQ+ people. Every year on 11 October, we reflect on the importance of being able to be yourself, regardless of your sexual orientation or gender identity.
This year on Coming Out Day, my own employer University of Utrecht and our neighbour HU Hogeschool Utrecht have joined Workplace Pride! Christine Holtkamp captured this wonderful event 📸 I look forward to working together to make these workplaces more inclusive.
As of last year, the longest rainbow bike path in the world has been at the Utrecht Science Park. With the rainbow bike path, Utrecht University, Hogeschool Utrecht and UMC Utrecht are calling attention to acceptance, equality and safety of all people from the LGBTIQ+ community. But what do staff and students really think about it?
Photo credit: Utrecht University
Milou van de Brug and Miriam Wickham, former student and PhD student at the Faculty of Social Sciences, respectively, investigated how the rainbow bike path was received by students and staff. They presented their results on Coming Out Day, revealing an overwhelmingly positive evaluation of the rainbow bike path: a rating of 8!
According to participants, the bike path symbolises the institutions' commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, and helps raise awareness. At the same time, according to Van de Brug and Wickham, the survey results give reason for more efforts in favour of LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Based on the findings, the researchers advise a Triple-A Approach:
Attention by providing all-gender toilets and inclusive gender registration policies,
Amplification by means of safe spaces and more visibility of LGBTQ+ networks,
Awareness by creating more visibility of the EDI Office’s actions and diversity goals.
Read more about the research and the policy advice here!