Check out the videoclip that Erik Heuvelink made for our research group about the diversity and inclusion research that we do at Utrecht University.
Not quite over the rainbow
Earlier this year, my co-authors and I published a paper on the unrelenting and insidious nature of heteronormative ideology in Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. This summer, I wrote an extended summary of this article for New Horizons, focusing on how heteronormativity plays out at work.
Launching of Academia@WorkplacePride and webinar
***Edited, the webinar can be viewed here***
Join us on August 24th for the launch of Academia@WorkplacePride, a collaboration between the Workplace Pride Foundation and the various educational/research institutes among its member organizations, which deals with the topic of LGBTI inclusion for faculty, staff and students.
The program and this launching webinar will address the many issues specific to academia such as:
Objectives
Are universities sufficiently clear and open regarding LGBTI inclusion for students, staff and faculty?
How do administrators include LGBTI topics in their policies and planning and how will they address creating progress when needed?
Is faculty sufficiently briefed on what LGBTI discrimination actually looks like and on how to combat it?
Do LGBTI students from locations where homosexuality is criminalised or not culturally accepted feel safe in our institutions? How about exchange students from ‘safe’ countries to high risk countries?
Does introducing Diversity and Inclusion policies in an institution conflict with researchers’ freedom of thought?
How do LGBTI policies affect the curriculum taught at universities? How to address “Queering the Curriculum”?
Event details:
Event: Academia@WorkplacePride Launching and Webinar
Date/Time: Monday, August 24, 2020: 13:00 - 14:00 CEST
Moderator: Dr. Michiel Kolman – Co-Chair Workplace Pride
Guest Speakers:
Professor Annettje Ottow – Vice President Utrecht University
Lyle Muns – Chair LSVb
Professor Jojanneke van der Toorn – Workplace Pride Chair for LGBTI Workplace Inclusion, Leiden University
Audience: Workplace Pride Members, stakeholders, and friends
Link: Workplace Pride Live Webinar
Select Webinar: Academia@WorkplacePride
Diversity and inclusion still not considered a priority in the workplace
Earlier this week, I gave a web lecture during the Performa HR Trends Congres on inclusive, systematic and evidence-based diversity policy. In it, I also addressed the results from the most recent HR Trends research, conducted among HR professionals in the Netherlands, which indicated that diversity and inclusion are still not considered a priority in the workplace. Curious, since many of the themes that were in the top 10 depend on solid diversity and inclusion management practices (for example, talent management, recruitment & selection, absenteeism and employee engagement and retention).
Vlogging on gender stereotypes
Together with two students from X11 Highschool for Media and Design, I created a vlog on gender stereotypes as part of an Utrecht Young Academy vlog project. It was a lot of fun to connect the curiosity of these students to the current state of knowledge on gender stereotypes.
Curious to see the vlog? Check it out here
On March 4, during a special premiere in the Academy building of the university, the students, members of the Utrecht Young Academy and JINC colleagues (who coordinated the project) gathered in the University Hall to watch the vlogs together and discuss the project. Watch all vlogs here!
The gender stereotypes team
The Genderful World Podcast: Gender Diversity at Work
The Genderful World Podcast is an extension of the What a Genderful World exhibition at the Tropenmuseum. In this podcast, journalist and podcasthost, Zoë Papaikonomou, discusses topics that go beyond he/she, with a co-host and changing guests.
In the third episode, my PhD student Onur Sahin offers his expertise on gender diversity at work. Together with Suzan Steeman from Women Inc. and diversity consultant Tarim Flach, he addresses relevant questions such as “How do conscious and unconscious prejudices, stereotypes and gender discrimination affect our behavior and our work-related choices?” and “How do we make workplaces more inclusive?”.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Photo Credit: https://www.nieuwwij.nl/actueel/genderful-world-podcast-gender-en-werk/
Harvard Lunch Lecture: LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Curriculum, Clinic & Classroom
** Due to current travel restrictions, this event has unfortunately been cancelled **
On March 19th, Jessica Halem, the LGBTQ Outreach and Engagement Director at Harvard Medical School, will talk about overhauling the medical curriculum to integrate sexual and gender minority health equity, and about creating a safe environment for students and faculty to be open about their LGBTQ identity.
Under Jessica Halem’s leadership, the first-year class has grown from 4% to 15% self-identified LGBTQ and the faculty OutList has quadrupled in size. Most recently, she secured a major grant to overhaul the curriculum to integrate sexual and gender minority health equity.
This lunch lecture is organised by LUMC Pride, Leiden Pride and the LGBT+ Network at Leiden University. The event will take place on March 19th 2020, from 13:00 to 14:00 at LUMC.
Free entrance and lunch is included. Interested? You can register here to attend this event.
Save the date: All-inclusive lecture on International Women's day
Opening doors for women in STEM
A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to which my co-authors Evava Pietri, Leslie Ashburn-Nardo and Corinne Moss-Racusin and I contributed an expert review was released to the public today.
“Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine reviews and synthesizes existing research on policies, practices, programs, and other interventions for improving the recruitment, retention, and sustained advancement into leadership roles of women in [STEM] disciplines. This report makes actionable recommendations to leverage change and drive swift, coordinated improvements to the systems of education, research, and employment in order to improve both the representation and leadership of women.”
The pre-publication can be accessed HERE
Panel on The Commercial Power of LGBTI Inclusion
On February 11th I was a panelist at Baker McKenzie’s very first client-facing LGBT-event, together with Maria Irvin (VP Talent & Development, Upstream at Shell) and Janet Visbeen (Partner and member Tax & Legal Board at PwC Netherlands). We had a very engaged audience and a lively discussion on the following statements:
1. In order to foster LGBT inclusion, the firm’s commitment to LGBT equality should be embedded in all corporate & internal communications.
2. Any company that claims to take LGBT rights seriously must be prepared to lose clients who are not (or educate them).
3. Only organizations that foster a climate of diversity, inclusiveness and trust can have strong and lasting position in the market.
