The Inclusion Studio on ‘nonsense diversity’
Recently, the Algemeen Dagblad published an interview with me, conducted by Edwin van der Aa, about the erratic course that some American companies are taking with regard to diversity. Where brands such as McDonald’s and Harley-Davidson in the US are scaling back their DEI ambitions, we are seeing a growing interest here – albeit sometimes superficial. I called it ‘nonsense diversity’ in the conversation: setting up working groups and setting up a lactation room and extra holidays are no guarantee or basis for real change. And if you don’t know when you are ‘diverse enough’, how can you ever determine whether you have achieved your goal.
Together with Naomi Ellemers from Utrecht University, Bob Homan from ING Corporate Investments and the Social and Economic Council (SER), among others, I emphasise in the article that more is needed than good intentions and a marketing trick. After all, it’s not just about economic benefits – although everyone acknowledges that an inclusive policy yields the necessary fruits – but also about the moral core: you do it because it’s right, not just because it pays off.
At The Inclusion Studio, we help organizations not to get stuck in ‘nonsense diversity’, but to move on to real, sustainable changes. Curious about how we approach this? Contact us via info@theinclusionstudio.nl – only together are we inclusive!
The link to the article: https://www.ad.nl/economie/
