EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

174 Equality Guide
will depend on their department and the support of the head.
It is of great importance that the Mainstreaming Promoters can operate in a clear structure
and under the support of a central equal opportunities and diversity office. The organization
must be willing to invest time and money into diversity; otherwise the Mainstreaming
Promoters will be doomed to fail. This central equal opportunities and diversity office is
responsible for organizing a number of network meetings where the Mainstreaming Promoters
can meet and share experiences. Within the K.U.Leuven at least three network
meetings are organized each year:
! a first one in the beginning of the academic year (around October) to discuss the approach
each faculty or office will use to develop and execute its action plans;
! a second one in the middle of the year (around February) to follow-up on those plans
and
! a third one at the end of the academic year (around June) to evaluate the action plan
executed, to share learning effects and pitfalls and to propose actions for the following
year.
Each year, the Diversity Policy Office bundles the different action plans in a report, publishes
it on its website and sends it to all Mainstreaming Promoters and their deans or
superiors. By publishing it on its website, the university shows it is working on diversity in
a professional way.
As the network of Mainstreaming Promoters of the Offices was elaborated and also new
Mainstreaming Promoters of the Faculties were welcomed, a training course on equal
opportunities and diversity was organized at the start of the academic year 2006-2007.
Two afternoon sessions were scheduled (see Tool: Equal opportunities and diversity training
in Tool Annex). The Mainstreaming Promoters were first consulted to know if they
would be interested in attending such a training course and what items should certainly
be addressed. The Mainstreaming Promoters were always invited to have lunch together
before the afternoon session started, to get to know each other on a more informal basis.
Sandwiches and drinks were supplied.
The first afternoon session started with a course of Professor Maddy Janssens on what
diversity is and how it can be applied in organizations. Professor Maddy Janssens is a
professor at the K.U.Leuven with experience in the field of diversity in organizations. The
Rectorial Advisor on Equal Opportunities and Diversity then introduced her Master plan
on equal opportunities and diversity at the university.
In a workshop, guided by the Staff member for Equal Opportunities and Diversity, small
groups applied the theory given by Professor Maddy Janssens to the situation in their
faculty or group based on two questions: (1) how does the policy of the K.U.Leuven compare
to the theory, (2) what themes are important to the faculty or office? For each question
a target was formulated and the findings were reported on a flipchart. A list of important
topics was clustered in themes on the flipcharts and the Mainstreaming Promoters got
the assignment to identify three action points for the next academic year as a preparation
for the second afternoon session. That second afternoon session was scheduled one
month later to give the Mainstreaming Promoters enough time to meet with their dean or