What is written in law and what equality, inclusion and diversity mean in practice is not always the same. This was the focus of this year’s D&I symposium on 13 January. The plenary sessions were watched by hundreds of participants and there was a wide range of workshops covering different aspects of…

Leiden University has had a diversity policy since 2014. The aim is to create a diverse and inclusive learning and working environment for all students and staff. Diversity Officer Aya Ezawa updates us on the process and the results. It’s now 2022, what has already changed?

On 15 April Susanne Deen will start as Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for Leiden Law School and the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. The aim of this new position is to contribute to establishing an inclusive community where all students and staff feel valued and respected, and can achieve…

The freedom to be who you are – woman, man, homosexual, heterosexual, transgender, religious, atheist, and so on – is perhaps the Netherlands’ greatest attribute. The principle of equality and the right not to be discriminated against are in the very first article of our constitution. Yet there is a…

Saniye Çelik, senior programme manager at the Centre Professional Learning (CPL) at Leiden University: The diversity policy of the Dutch central government still needs work. How do we take a real step forward? Saniye Çelik, Christiaan Rebergen, Marc Allessie and Jacqueline Prins exchange ideas.

Jojanneke van der Toorn is kicking off the new Academia@WorkplacePride year with the LGBTIQ+ Workplace Inclusion Symposium. As a social psychologist, she wants to share knowledge and gather experiences relating to diversity and inclusion at work

On Thursday 10 November, the Night of the Lobbyist was held. During this public event, organised by Leiden University and the Public Affairs Academy, many insights were shared regarding the different aspects of lobbying and the diversity of the world of the lobby.

Children of preschool age are increasingly understanding what adults expect of them. What rules of behavior do these children learn from their fathers and mothers in certain cultures within the Netherlands?

How has progress been made on diversity and inclusion at Leiden University over the past decade? Attendees reflected on this at the D&I Symposium 2024: Untold Stories. And in the workshops, students and staff discussed the next steps toward a more inclusive community.

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She started her career in the police force, walking the beat as an officer. Now she has been appointed Extraordinary Professor of Diversity, Inclusion and Policing at Leiden University. Things have come full circle for Saniye Çelik. ‘It's very special.’

The project seeks to explore the interplay of valuation and inequalities in science, using the interdisciplinary and planet-critical field of forest research as empirical case. It examines which/whose knowledge is recognised on what grounds, and how social dimensions like gender and geographical location…

It was his thesis supervisor during his master's in Film and Photographic Studies who encouraged Shivan Shazad to pursue a second master's in diversity policy at Ghent. He is now Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

This year, Leiden University will participate for the first time in the Cultural Talent to the Top monitor. This will provide insight into the University’s diversity policy with regard to staff from a non-western background. The ultimate aim is to promote ethnic and cultural diversity in certain rol…

Sociologist Aya Ezawa is the new Diversity Officer at Leiden University. What is the University doing well and what could it do better? ‘It’s taken much more for granted that universities should be a reflection of society. But this is also an area where we can still make progress.’

Leiden University has the highest percentage of female professors of all the Dutch Universities. At 24 per cent, Leiden is well ahead of the other universities in the Netherlands.

In the United States and around the world, the death of George Floyd has sparked fierce daily demonstrations against police violence and racism. What is the significance for our faculty?

The Faculty of Archaeology is running a funding scheme to assist small-scale projects that contribute to diversifying archaeological practice in all domains, including classrooms, laboratories, museums, and the field. We discuss the grant with two representatives from the Diversity Committee: Tuna Kalaycı…

Peter Slort is the highly driven portfolio holder for Diversity with the Dutch National Police. Since November 2016 he has been spreading the importance of diversity throughout the police organisation.

Op welke manieren kan inclusieve communicatie ervoor zorgen dat mensen zich welkom voelen? Hierover ging het D&I-symposium van Universiteit Leiden.

‘Systematic, coherent, comprehensive policy for the long-term,’ is key to initiatives by different groups within the University to collectively reinforce their quality, says Diversity Officer Isabel Hoving. On Thursday 15 June 2017 the Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) visited Leiden…

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Kerstin Perez has reached the position of Assistant Professor of Particle Physics at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). For people from minority groups this is by no means a common experience. Perez will explain how improvements can be made at the annual Diversity and Inclusion…

What do we need to do for Leiden University to become a truly inclusive institution, where everyone feels at home and has equal opportunities? This is the key question at the annual symposium on diversity and inclusiveness on 1 December. If you would like to put your views, sign up now!

If you want to talk about inclusion, you have to bring up the subject of race. This is what Kamna Patel said at Leiden University’s annual Diversity Symposium on 22 January. She is Vice-Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at University College London. We spoke to her beforehand.

Following the success of the pilot calendar that was launched earlier this year, a new D&I calendar for the academic year 2022-2023 has been developed. This calendar is an effort to build awareness and a cultural understanding of important religious holidays and other special observances of the diverse…

Last month, with the help of the advisory groups the D&I Calendar was launched for the Faculty of Humanities. The calendar serves as a tool to create awareness about important dates related to diversity and inclusion and their potential impact on work and study.