‘It's important to connect queer employees’

“When I first stared working here, I was curious about what the university organised for queer employees", says Jeroen Berg, a Marketing & Communication Officer working at the faculties of Humanities and Law, Economics & Governance. He is also involved with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group (EDI). "As a gay man, meeting colleagues who are queer like me reinforces my sense of belonging here. Knowing that we're connected generates a stronger sense of recognition and safety. I found the Rainbow Network, but it was practically inactive."

That's why he took it upon himself to explore the possibilities of reviving the network. He talked to all sorts of employees at UU, the diversity dean, and the founders of the Rainbow Network. "The Rainbow Network was suffering from several bottlenecks. For example, it wasn't clear whether the network was aimed at employees or students, and how it was supposed to stay active. In the end, we decided to start a new network from scratch, only for employees. It took six months to shape it, find support and enthuse employees to join."

Queer at UU is managed by a four-person committee (link to the Intranet, Ed.) and aims to connect and support queer employees, as well as promote their interests. "Falling outside of the norm in terms of gender and sexuality can be challenging. We can be faced with discrimination, shaming, and exclusion. The themes we work on are often profound and personal. It's nice to have a space where you can talk about these things more openly, especially at work. This way, there's a bigger chance that you'll feel understood." 

Who is welcome to join Queer at UU?
“Queer is a broad concept, I know. But we're not going to act as gatekeepers of who is queer and who isn't. The network is also aimed at those who are still in the process of soul-searching and don't yet know how exactly they will define themselves. We communicate in English because we want to be inclusive of all employees, including those who do not speak Dutch."

The network was officially launched on January 23. How did it go?
“As far as I'm concerned, it was a big success. About a hundred people signed up, of whom eighty showed up. We celebrated our launch at Faculty Club, a space with a long history that provided us with a more traditional backdrop. Doing our quick-off there was a way to say that such a space is for us too.

The evening was opened by the diversity dean, John de Wit, who spoke about the importance of networks like ours. There are many queer employees, but they don't necessarily know where to find each other. It's nice to know that you're not alone, although you might feel that way in your team or department. After the speech, he interviewed the committee to show the people present what the network is all about. Guests could also make use of a "suggestion box" which was meant to guide us in terms of the needs of our target audience and how to do our job."

How does Queer at UU work?
“We have drawn up a mission and vision document focusing on three core goals. First, we want to connect and support queer colleagues, as well as promote the interests of LGBTQI+ staff. We haven't determined how exactly we will accomplish that mission yet. We find it extremely important to figure out the community's needs through the network itself, and then see whether we can make that happen. Hence the suggestion box at our launch party. We don't want decisions to be taken from above. Instead, they should come from the employees themselves.

“We already have some concrete ideas. For example, it is quite difficult for employees in transition to change their names in all the systems. That is one example of the things we're going to look at: how can we make that change happen faster? Queer at UU already consists of approximately 150 members, so you can imagine how much we can achieve together. Together, we create Utrecht University, so only together can we ensure that it is a place for everyone.”

What's on your activity calendar?
“We will have an activity every month, ranging from lectures to sporting events. In addition, we will have drinks every second Thursday of the month.”

The Rainbow Network became inactive after a while. How do you intend to prevent the same from happening to Queer at UU?
“We are confident that Queer at UU has a solid foundation, given the large turnout our launch party got, the number of members, and the great support we've received from all kinds of important people at the university. We are thinking carefully about future follow-up arrangements to make sure that we stay on top of what is going on with employees. The members of the committee have a lot of knowledge of marketing and communication, which also ensures that people pay attention to our network and that the connections do not dissolve quickly. Events are another way we will guarantee that the network remains active. Setting up the network is one thing, but now we're focusing on maintaining it!”