EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 1 ! Personnel development and organisational culture 25
reasonability and acceptability in its mission statement about diversity. Consequently,
the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has set itself the aim of promoting diversity in society both
in its study programmes and in its student and staff policy, by guaranteeing equal opportunities
for all, without distinction on the grounds of gender, social or ethnic origin,
belief, sexual orientation, age or disability. In this way, the integrity of every individual
is respected, with all their gifts and failings. To fulfil this aim in practice, the Vrije
Universiteit Brussel has taken measures so designed that they can be regularly evaluated
on the basis of quantifiable data. More concretely these measures are related to
education, student policy, student facilities and enrolment, staff and recruitment policy.
A general ‘diversity plan’ has been developed by the ‘diversity forum’, a kind of policy
think tank advising the Chancellor and composed of students, staff members and experts
from within the university. As the scientific counterpart of this policy forum,
RHEA (The research centre for Gender and Diversity), a multidisciplinary research
team, plays a key role in promoting research collaboration and attracting research
projects. These projects are fundamental as well as policy supporting. The plan is evaluated
and adapted on a yearly basis. To evaluate the measures taken, an evaluation
on the basis of quantifiable data is of the utmost importance.
That is why the Vrije Universiteit Brussel wished to create an instrument that fulfilled
those needs. The Glass Guide 20 , which was developed in the Netherlands in the 2001-
2005 period acted as a source of inspiration. This instrument focuses on the underrepresentation
of women in higher education. But since its aim is to reconcile and
value the diverse creativity and the varied subgroups for the benefit of the organization,
it lent itself perfectly to integrating emancipation goals as well as positive actions in a
global policy. The instrument the Vrije Universiteit Brussel wished to develop would be
an analogous instrument that would broaden its action radius to the other groups that
are involved in the VUB’s diversity. Therefore, the organizational culture had to be
expressed in measurable terms and had to be comparable to the organizational culture
of other institutions, or to its own culture but in a later period. The same applied to
labour agreements, labour supplies and policy instruments. Eventually, this instrument
would serve as a validated self-screening instrument for Flanders to audit the structure
and culture of an organization.
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Glazen Gids: http://www.theglassguide.org/.