After a year and a half, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is getting a new status. It will become an official advisory body with a mandate for the Faculty Board of Nijmegen School of Management. Dean Saskia Lavrijssen and committee chair Caroline Essers want to take steps towards diversity, equity and inclusion. 'We don't keep pointing fingers. It's about how things can be done better.'
According to Lavrijssen and Essers, the importance of the committee, which was created bottom-up in early 2023, cannot be underestimated. The themes are urgent. 'In my previous position, I and a colleague wrote a column for the Tilburg university magazine on diversity and equity during the COVID-19 pandemic,' says Lavrijssen, who has been dean since 1 March. 'Women were hit harder by the pandemic. You see this more often: certain groups have a harder time during crises. Now that we are facing budget cuts, we have to make sure that such groups do not lose out.'
'Not all students are empowered'
Essers notes that safety is not a given at university. Some groups feel unheard, or even discriminated against. 'Then you have to think about the LGBTI community or people with a Muslim background, for example. But students with autism or adhd can also feel misunderstood. As a lecturer, you can't tell that from the students and something like that doesn't always come to the surface. Moreover, it is an assumption that all students are empowered'. Essers wants to work towards an inclusive culture. 'Where everyone can be themselves and everyone belongs.'
Inclusive Classroom
The new Inclusive Classroom project researches concrete tools to increase social safety and inclusiveness in education. A student assistant has been hired who will interview students in focus groups, as well as other stakeholders, to find out what they are up against and what they need. This will result in a handbook of tools. 'In working groups, for example, certain methods could be applied so that students can work together more equally and pleasantly,' says Essers. Other group compositions can sometimes already help. 'If you let people choose freely, they will almost always automatically sit together in homogeneous groups. In consultation with students, you can make adjustments in Brightspace so that you get groups with more diversity.'
Discussions about Gaza
But when is a situation unsafe and when only uncomfortable? That is a tricky question. 'Either way, it is important to be able to share when you don't feel comfortable,' Lavrijssen says. 'We need to be in conversation with each other and if someone expresses something, you don't have to feel attacked immediately either. Students and teachers can learn from each other.' The dean also saw this in faculty discussions on Gaza. 'There are many opinions about that, which are often very close to the heart. Then it's about how you keep talking to each other. There has to remain room for different views and opinions from different cultural backgrounds.'
Starting from someone's talent
Besides education, HR is also a pillar within the DEI committee. 'In HR, we are increasingly aware that there is no such thing as a sheep with five legs,' says Lavrijssen. 'Everyone has different talents. One person is a good speaker, another a good leader, yet another is strong in research. We may rely more on a person's talent.' Attention is paid to development opportunities and giving responsibilities. Lavrijssen: 'If there is feedback or advice on the policy from the committee, we take action.'
Also in English
The third pillar is communication. 'This mainly concerns how to communicate inclusively,' says Essers. For instance, it still occasionally happens that all communications for an event are in Dutch. 'While we have many foreign students and staff. Communication should always be available in English as well. We think about such issues as a committee.' This does not mean that the committee will always point the finger, also with regard to the other pillars, according to Essers. 'We always assume the good. The glass is half full. It's about how things can be done better and we are happy to help with that.'
That diversity, equality and inclusion is alive and well at the faculty is evident from the applications for the student assistant position in the Inclusive Classroom project alone. Essers: 'There was a lot of enthusiasm for that. That says something, of course. I am very much looking forward to getting started with this.'