Nijmegen, 2 September – Cecilia Olivero, IDA Member on the 2nd of September 2022, has moderate roundtables at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Gender Hotspot hosted an entire day of conferences and panels for its 10th anniversary, to discuss the impact of scholars and practitioners on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). Organised by Dr Jutta Joachim, Dr Yvonne Benschop, Prof. Mieke Verloo and PhD Candidate Lema Salah, the main question that this day aimed to answer, or at least start answering, is “What are the next steps to work on gender equality, diversity and inclusion?”. How can, the corporate and the academic worlds, work together towards equality?
The Programme
The day started with an introduction by Dr Jutta Joachim and Dr Yvonne Benschop (in the figure), who
explained the intentions behind the Hotspot and the programme for the day.
It followed a one-hour presentation by Halleh Ghorashi, researcher and Professor at Vrije Universiteit, in Amsterdam. She discussed Feminist epistemology and engaged in scholarship, navigating her stories, experiences and projects that led her through the path of human rights, refugee works and diversity.
Afterwards, PhD candidate Lema Salah had the pleasure to moderate the Academics panel with Professors
Mustafa Ozbilgin (Brunel University, London), Sara-Louise Muhr (Copenhagen Business School), Myra Marx Ferree (University of Winsconsin-Madison) and Patrizia Zanoni (Hasselt University and Utrecht University). The panelists discussed their perspectives and contributes to Feminist Futures in Politics and
Management. The lunch was served and a performance by the Transketeers, a group of three creative humans who film documentaries and try to educate through their work, was given. They guided us through a short story on how Google and YouTube helped transgender folks sharing their experiences hence creating communities online, which enabled them in their transitioning and in supporting each other.
The last panel, moderated by Ingeborg Kroese, was focused on the impact that practitioners can have on DEI, hence bringing Effective Change Making olicies. The panel saw Aminata Cairo, Speaker, scholar, storyteller and lector at the Amsterdam University of the Arts; Joanny Lijbers, Head of HR Unilever
Netherlands & Nutrition Europe; Pascalle Grotenhuis, Director Social Development & Ambassador for Women’s Rights & Gender Equality; Channah Herschberg, policy officer Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; Bente Keulen, beleidsadviseur Inclusie Gemeente Nijmegen and Yelly Weidenaar, Director Talent naar de Top. Towards the end of the afternoon the panelists, academics, practitioners, students, alumni and participants to the conference were asked to sit together in roundtables, moderated by (former) MA students, to discuss the future steps of gender, diversity and inclusion and the impact that we all can
have on the topic. Eventually, all the guests and moderators have reunited in the plenary session to wrap-up the discussions and ideas debated in the meeting grounds, and to conclude the conference with a speech
and deliver the first ever Award for the commitment towards DEI, to Pr. Mieke Verloo (then named after her). Hopefully, it will start a long tradition of conferences hosted by the Gender Hotspot and a genuine cooperation between different departments and roles, towards a future in which DEI will be part of the priorities in different agendas.
