EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

32 Equality Guide
lation. Another survey study by Rankin and Reason 55 among ten university campuses
showed that coloured students experienced more harassment than white students.
White female students, on the other hand, reported more gender harassment. Harassment
was defined as “any offensive, hostile or intimidating conduct that interferes unreasonably
with one’s ability to work or learn on campus”. Respondents had to indicate
whether they had experienced such behaviour and what the focus of that behaviour
was (e.g. race, gender).
Another study at the University of Colorado used a survey to see how students perceived
the climate of their university in general 56 . More precisely, they were asked to
what extent they felt comfortable and welcome, how often they experienced stereotyping
and how often they heard negative remarks or saw negative behaviour towards
particular populations. The results were divided according to gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, religious preference and physical abilities to make comparisons possible.
Some elements from this survey were taken over in our questionnaire.
3. Process report
3.1. Research question
The most important questions to be answered in this research are:
! What are the characteristics of an organizational climate that is receptive to diversity?
! What dimensions can measure the amount of diversity in an organization?
! How open is the organizational climate to equal opportunities and diversity?
! What do people think about equal opportunities and diversity?
! What are people’s needs concerning equal opportunities and diversity?
3.2. Research design
Data were collected by means of two surveys: one for all members of personnel (ATP
as well as AP) 57 and one for all the students of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The most
important part of the research was to design and test those two surveys. This involved
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56
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Rankin, S.R., Reason, R.D. (2005). ‘Differing Perceptions: How Students of Color and White Students
Perceive Campus Climate for Underrepresented Groups’. In: Journal of College Student Development,
vol 46; 1, p. 43-44.
http://www.colorado.edu/pba/surveys/climate/01/index.htm.
ATP = Administrative and Technical personnel; AP = Academic Personnel.