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| Edith Snoey gave a lecture entitled, `Experiences with gender issues within the unions'at the fourth annual Female Faculty Network conference in the Horst Tower. |
In his speech, Brunger pointed out that big companies, who show the best financial outcomes and results, are companies that have mixed gender management. Diversity, he said, may bring about more conflicts, but with good management, a conflict can even be seen as productive. The Executive Board is implementing three tenure track positions, exclusively for female scientist, which has already resulted in 27 applications being submitted by women from around the world.
Other successful programs and initiatives implemented by the UT in recent years have been the Mentor-Mentee Network and the Ambassadors Network, both of which aim to keep an open dialogue about gender issues and advance females in their career path.
Dr. Yvonne Bischop, a professor of Organizational Behavior at the Nijmegen School of Management, advised female scientist to verbally express their ambitions at an early stage. `When I started out as a PhD student, I made it very clear that I wanted to be a professor, and eventually it happened,' she said.
Bischop went on to describe the `rock bottom period' in 1996 when only 4.5 percent of professors were female. Yet she maintains optimism about today's growing momentum, which she thinks is caused in part by looking at gender equality as a `business issue' rather than speaking about the situation in terms of social injustice and equality. `We can take the business case arguments and work towards telling people that part of this issue is a business issue, and universities will lose out on half the talent pool if they are not promoting women to their fullest,' she added.
Following Bischop was the chairwomen of the Netherlands' biggest trade union federation Edith Snoey. Her experience has taught her that the scales are still tipped in strong favor of men. Snoey reflected, `We still see that women are not equally rewarded. Women are lagging behind when it comes to areas like pension buildup.'
How world companies approach the business case formula to look at gender issues was explained by Wouke Lam, the program manager of Shell International Information Technology. Since the mid-nineties Dutch Royal Shell started to work on a global level, changing the way the organization was run. Shell's CEO Jeroen van der Veer stated, `Diversity and inclusion are vital for winning in today's business environment, by integrating diversity and inclusiveness into the mainstream aspects of the business.'
Instead of legally binding quotas, Shell sets recruitment targets to increase the number of female employees, and recruiters are measured against these targets. According to Lam, Shell delivered on the target to hire 28 percent females in technical job positions, which corresponds with the number of female technical students graduating from universities. On the commercial side, the company was able to achieve even better percentages with an equal representation of women and men.
These top-down initiatives at Shell led to gender awareness training sessions for leadership teams where males and females were shown the video Invisible Rules, which helped raise awareness about gender differences. For example if females nod their heads, said Lam, it indicates they are encouraging the progression of a conversation. On the contrary, when males send this same non-verbal cue, it indicates he is agreeing to whatever is being spoken. `It's like the ying and the yang, where we create a workplace for all talents to develop to the fullest potential and really reach the optimal business benefits,' she added.
The last speaker, UT Professor of Strategic Management Hans Roosendaal, agreed on the diagnosis - more females should be represented in top positions - but he cautioned that it is difficult to find the right cure. `Sometimes we know the cure can be worse than the disease,' he said. In ten years, according Roosendaal, 50 percent of the chaired professors in Europe will be replaced. This is something he views as an opportunity to create new strategies by adopting policies at the institutional level. This could also leave the door wide open for female scientists who want to advance in their careers.
Reactions
Inspirational words
PhD candidate Margot Stilma, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Design, Production and Management
`It was valuable to get the different perspectives between the unions, academia and a multi-national company like Shell. Learning how to approach gender issues, to know the key points that make things go wrong and how to help it go right is really helpful. But also, it's motivating that these women have all reached high positions. They are an inspiration.'
The right climate to speak out
Dr. Joke ter Hellen, Operational Manager, University Library.
`Speaking out is essential in an organization. Wouke Lam mentioned that many men are less sensitive to reading body language, so women need to speak out more. We're not lacking in confidence but there has to be trust. Without trust we wouldn't be as comfortable speaking our minds. We need a climate that is open to that.'
Not enough men
Dr. Angelika Mader, Assistant professor of Electrical Engineering, Control Engineering.
`Young women scientists only come to recognize over time that things aren't going as smoothly for them as they are for their male colleagues. Conferences like this create an awareness, so in that respect, I would have preferred more men to be here.'
Celebrate gender difference
Dr. Raffaella Carloni, Assistant professor of Electrical Engineering, Control Engineering.
`I think that by stressing the differences between men and women there is a danger that we may create more distance. I prefer collaboration, where we can grow together, using our differences to improve academia. But also, when Arjan Brunger mentioned that women need to focus more on their personal goals, I recognized this in myself. I will have to learn to say no more often.'
