Seed Money Grant for Jojanneke van der Toorn and Martine Veldhuizen

How do you work with sensitive employee data in your efforts to create an inclusive workplace? This is the focus of the new project group “Privacy and Inclusion”, established by UYA members Jojanneke van der Toorn and Martine Veldhuizen.

The project originates from the UYA-organised network evening following the Research Funding Days of 2018. At this event, Martine Veldhuizen (Cultural History) and Jojanneke van der Toorn (Social Psychology) connected with invitees Stefan Kulk (Privacy Law) and Florien Cramwinckel (Social Sciences) on the tension between privacy and transparency that organizations may experience when collecting sensitive employee data such as sexuality and gender identity.

Though this information is valuable for monitoring potential workplace inequality and diversity policy effectiveness, it may also cause tension with people’s right to privacy and their ability to control their personal information. The Privacy and Inclusion project's goal is to create a practical, evidence-based toolbox aiding employers in developing effective diversity policy that respects people’s right to privacy.

Following the initial proposal, the project received a €25.000,- Seed Money Grant from Utrecht University in December 2018, with the purpose of developing a research consortium. The group has already connected with the Workplace Pride Foundation, an international platform for LGBTI workplace inclusion, and is planning a Connecting Members event on May 27th. The input and experiences of participants will serve as the basis for identifying the pitfalls and promises of employee data collection. Currently, an NWA proposal is in the works.

Following this and other successes, UYA will organise a second network evening during this year's Research Funding Days.