Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We strive for a safe environment in which we appreciate and utilise differences

At Humanities, we want everyone to feel at home and we think that everyone should have equal opportunities to develop, regardless of gender, sexuality, sex, religion, race/ethnicity, orientation, cultural background, nationality, neurotype or physical disability. We strive for a safe environment in which we appreciate and utilise differences in order to maximise possibilities for creativity, innovation and talent development.

We recognise that a diverse and inclusive organisation is of fundamental importance for equal opportunities and rights. It contributes to the fight against social and economic inequality, and it reduces prejudices and stigmatisation in society. We think that diversity among staff and students is of added value to our faculty: it enriches debate in our education, it improves our research, it enhances our teams, and it results in more understanding of and for the variety in our society.

equality, diversity & inclusion. 1. Equality refers to equal opportunities for all and combatting discrimination. 2. Diversity refers to recognizing, respecting and valuing differences between people. 3. Inclusion refers to an university community where everyone is valued and feels at home.

Our faculty is committed to contribute to the realisation of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion within Utrecht University, and makes important contributions to various projects and initiatives:

Equal-opportunities education

We are at the forefront of equal-opportunities education in Utrecht via the university-wide Honours Trajectum Utrecht (in Dutch), which was developed by the faculty, and provides extracurricular education to talented pupils with social or cultural backgrounds in which it is unusual to study.

Other projects and initiatives in the field of education our staff and students are involved in:

Diversity in intake and selection: researches whether or not the intake and selection track at the Bachelor's and Master's programmes of the university has roadblocks that result in undesirable selective effects.
U-Talent University pioneers: a programme for vwo pupils, whose parents have not studied at universities or universities of applied sciences, in order to introduce them to studying.
Meet the professor: annually, our Humanities professors visit the primary schools of Utrecht so students can become acquainted with us.

Research

The research hub Gender & Diversity of Utrecht University joins forces with social partners in order to solve gender and diversity issues, and to develop strategies for the implementation of diversity for social inclusion and change.

Strategic plan

In our Strategic Plan 2020-2025, you will find information on how we want to achieve more diversity, inclusion and equality, such as:

We strive to increase the percentage of female professors by awarding two thirds of the new appointments to the position of professor to women during the planned period.
We have explicit attention for young academics, for whom international experiences can be of great importance to their own professional developments and career options.
We spend special attention to diversity in recruitment, and give new staff members - especially foreign staff members - a warm welcome by, among other things, facilitating buddies who show them the ropes in the organisation.

Networks

Our staff and students are involved in the following networks:

Class-Conscious Academics Network: strives for improvement of the representation and experiences of students and academics of the first generation and 'working class'.
EDI projects Young Academy: young academics devote themselves to promoting diversity within and outside the university.

Working Group EDI Humanities

In order to make further concrete steps, the Faculty of Humanities has founded an internal Working Group Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Humanities, which works on various themes involving equality, diversity and inclusion, such as: intake and transfer of (future) students, and recruitment and selection of staff members.

You can find the members of the working group on the intranet and you can contact them via email: edi.gw@uu.nl.

More information

For Staff (intranet)
For Students (not available yet)
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at UU