Statement Hub Gender and Diversity

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Recent developments following the global anti-racism protests show once again that after decades of fighting for social justice, there is still a very long way to go. Recent studies show that discrimination and racism are also a major structural problem in the Netherlands and that an open and inclusive society with equal opportunities for all, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc., remains a dream for many (, , ).

Multidisciplinary research shows that systemic racism and discrimination are deeply rooted in public, social, cultural and economic structures. This can be seen in the labour, housing and consumer markets, education, health care, politics, the cultural sector, government bodies such as the tax authorities and the police, and in a complex web of other local, regional, national and global institutions which we as citizens are part of or have to engage with.

 

Over the past twenty years, a great deal of scientific research has shown that

  • concepts such as diversity/inclusion are often used as buzzwords, and regularly fail to refer to concrete practices and measures (see for example: Ahmed 2012; Alexander 2005; Dobbin & Kalev 2016; Kaiser et al 2013);

 

  • merit and competence are partly coloured by racial and gender-specific connotations and therefore it is necessary to create rigorous inclusive recruitment practices within education at the level of both lecturers and students, as well as in politics, the business world, cultural and care institutions, etc. (see for example: Blommaert et al 2014; Buikema et al 2019; Ceci & Williams 2011; Cejka & Eagly 1999; Crew 2020; De Goede et al 2016; Leslie et al 2015; Van Veelen & Derks 2019; Ter Borg 2020);

 

  • in establishing a more inclusive society, it is to be expected that institutional structures specifically dedicated to inclusion and anti-discrimination such as quotas, support systems, hotlines, counsellors with the ability to act, monitoring and enforcement systems will have a positive impact (see for example B枚cker et al 2019; Senden & Kruisinga 2018; VSNU et al 2019; Williams 2014).

 

 

In order to promote an open and inclusive society, we, as the Gender & Diversity Hub, remain fully committed to disseminating our research results with the aim of providing policy advice (see for example, SER, ) and institutional change (see for example, the NEMA manifesto, in the and in ).