Saniye Çelik: Leadership is the road to inclusion
Saniye Çelik, Programme Manager at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) for courses such as ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ was interviewed about the Dutch government’s diversity policy for the Dutch governmental journal ‘BinnenbeRijk’.
Superficial, instrumental, and window dressing, Saniye Çelik is sceptic about the Dutch government’s diversity policy. ‘Signing a charter or aiming to reach certain targets doesn’t make your organisation inclusive.’
‘Saniye.’ A hand shoots up during the questions at the end of a presentation Çelik recently gave in The Hague in front of a group of public leaders. ‘All the effort, attention, and the money that the government is spending on diversity and inclusivity, you know. Does that really work?’ She would have loved to be able to answer: yes….. ‘I don’t know’.
Over the years, Çelik has dedicated herself to promoting diversity and inclusivity in many different ways. On behalf of Leiden University and Hogeschool Leiden (University of Applied Sciences Leiden) she conducted research into the Dutch government. She is convinced of the utility and necessity of the subject but she questions the policies and interventions favoured by the government: the networking drinks, the specialist recruiters, and talent programmes. Because simply, research into the subject is lacking. And as a researcher, that makes her very sceptical. ‘Apparently, it is still more common for policies to be based on emotions and politics instead of – as is should be – science and practice.’
You can read the full interview (in Dutch) here.
Course Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity is becoming a hot topic on the agenda of many public organisations. More specifically, ways and means to promote diversity and inclusivity. Based on the belief that diversity policies should be grounded in science and practice, the Centre for Professional Learning has created the course Diversity & Inclusion. Start: 7 november 2019 Duration: 4 days Price: € 1.950,- including course materials and catering Location: The Hague
More information about the course