Day 1
Diversity & Inclusion: making an impact with strategy
09:00 - 12:30
In the first meeting, we will briefly outline the history of this field which, through emancipation policy, target group policy, equal opportunities, gender policy and diversity management, is now commonly referred to as Diversity & Inclusion or Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging. Diversity cannot exist without inclusion, and inclusion certainly cannot exist without diversity. Notwithstanding the popularity of the terms, research shows that there is still a lot of ambiguity around them. We discuss the central concepts of D&I and cover the latest scientific and practical insights. Our starting point is that D&I are of strategic importance for modern organisations. A strategic perspective on managing D&I is effective. We reflect on the strategies that managers and employees themselves deploy in the context of D&I. Besides a solid and well-founded theoretical framework, this session also offers reflection on the success factors of a strategic approach. How do you ensure sponsors and supporters, commitment and support?
Lunch
Interactive lecture: multiple identity and inclusion
13:30 - 17:00
In the afternoon, we will cover the topics of identity and inclusion. Identity is not uniform, people have multiple identities that can bring tensions for themselves and in organisations. We will explore the social nature of identity, how people work on their identity and how the simultaneity of different identities can affect people's inclusion in organisations. In the second part, Saniye Çelik gives an interactive lecture on inclusion and inclusive leadership. She addresses questions such as: How do you shape and give substance to an inclusive organisation where all organisational members can come into their own? What is the role of managers in this, what does inclusive leadership mean in practice? How inclusive are we ourselves? What dilemmas do we encounter in inclusion?
Day 2
Making resistance productive
09:00 - 12:30
Increasing Diversity & Inclusion in organisations involves changing them so that less exclusion and more inclusion occurs. Power and resistance are essential components of any organisational change, and especially organisational change that is about cultural values and norms, as is the case with D&I. However, the operation of power is mostly implicit and sometimes even hidden. Power can also manifest itself as resistance. Different theories of power shed surprising light on current organisational practices around D&I. In this session, we look at how power processes work and the different strategies a consultant or manager can employ to influence these power processes and make resistance productive. This meeting offers participants an in-depth look at the organisation from the power perspective. Their own position within the power field and the opportunities for influence this entails are discussed in detail.
Lunch
Learning to Change
13:30 - 17:00
Despite many initiatives in this area, attempts to transform organisations into more diverse and inclusive places to work are slow. Practice proves recalcitrant and we do speak of hard-learning organisations. Using recent insights from change science, we reflect on the ability and impossibility of organisations to learn and change in the field of D&I. This half-day session will explore which different change approaches are possible, which change agents are involved and how change is a systemic and a political process. The perspectives of the consultant and the inclusive leader will be discussed throughout. In addition to concrete change perspectives, we will examine what happens “under the surface” of an organisation and how we can recognise and influence these unconscious processes.
