On 1 January 2019, NWO became a member of Workplace Pride, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of lesbians, gays, transgenders and intersexuals (LGBTI) at workplaces around the world. In this context, NWO is organising the first NWO Pride network meeting on Tuesday, 2 April 2019. The informal meeting will be held at the Amsterdam Science Park and is open to all LGBTI employees of NWO and NWO-I and other interested persons.
Programme
The NWO Pride network meeting will be held on Tuesday, 2 April 2019 at NWO Institute CWI, Science Park 123 in Amsterdam from 15.00 hours to 17.00 hours (doors open at 14.30 hours). After the meeting, there will be a chance to meet over informal drinks. The following people will speak at this meeting:
- Jaap Schouten, chair NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES), member NWO executive board and professor at Eindhoven University of Technology
Diversity is important for research and for NWO in particular. - Rens Waters: member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, former director SRON, professor at University of Amsterdam
After a short lay person's talk about his work, Rens will describe his personal experiences within the world of science. - David Pollard: director Stichting Workplace Pride
About the organisation Workplace Pride and its activities. - Rineke Verbrugge: Professor Logic and Cognition at University of Groningen, and member of the Institute Advisory Committee of CWI.
After a short lay person's talk about her work, Rineke will describe her personal experiences within the world of science.
Why is this network meeting being held?
The aim of the network meeting is to improve the work environment and position of LGBTI people. The focus is on increasing the visibility of LGBTI employees and the formation of a network. The intention is to hold regular meetings. Furthermore, NWO's diversity workgroup will itemise whether there are bottlenecks/barriers for the target group in the organisation and whether any additional measures from NWO are needed.
Unfortunately, emancipation initiatives are still needed in general. Prof. Dr Jojanneke van der Toorn, professor by special appointment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workplace Inclusion (Leiden University), recently published an article in De Volkskrant newspaper. In that article, she stated that it is less common for homosexuals and, in particular, bisexual employees to have a permanent contract than heterosexual employees, that they are more likely to suffer burnout symptoms and are more frequently bullied or intimidated at work. For transgenders, the percentages are higher still. Only forty percent of this group have a job.
Further information
If you have any questions, please contact Léon Ouwerkerk, coordinator LGBTI.
NWO membership of Workplace Pride
NWO seeks to realise excellent science, which flourishes and has a maximum impact on our society. One aspect of this is encouraging an inclusive science culture with a view to diversity in the broadest sense of the word. Diversity leads to inspiration, creativity and innovation. The NWO Pride network meeting on 2 April 2019 and NWO's membership of the organisation Workplace Pride, fit within the broad strategy to increase diversity within the organisation and in the realisation of our work, also with respect to gender, cultural and ethnic background, et cetera.
