Marjolein Dennissen

104 The Herculean task of diversity networks it [fasting] is good for you. This should be common knowledge by now. You do not want to address the same issues over and over again. You try to be short and concise, or ignore it, but you do not want to come across as a closed person”. Director: “So you defend yourself about something that you should not have to defend yourself about”. Network member: “The advantage of a dialogue is that you also change something about their [colleagues] image. Next time, the conversation will head in another direction. So I think we have to invest in these kind of discussions. A little bit awareness”. Director: “But back to the question: does it bother you? And not in the sense that it ruins your life, but more… it is not entirely respectful”. A network member responds: “But it is such a grey area”. Director: “That is why I am asking about your perception (…) I just want an answer to my question”. A network member responds to what is said earlier about discussions with colleagues and having to defend oneself: “That should not be the case every time. For example, we organize many drinks within [Finance] [laughter], and every time you have to explain that you do not drink wine. I do not want to defend myself every time. You can engage in the discussion every time, but it is something that you encounter”. At that moment the director interrupts the network member by asking if there is anyone who wants a croquette, “because they are getting cold”. The network member continues: “What I want to indicate is that what I find bothering is that I do not advance in my career and that prejudice has its influence: you do your job well, but in the end it is about the likability-factor. And during promotion and selection many prejudices play a role, for example images of a leader: a leader is extrovert. If you look only at the numbers, you never get this problem solved”. At the end of the meeting, the director states: “You [the network] should and can hold a mirror [to the management and organization]; it can hurt just a little bit”, and additionally, “[today] I have heard some things of which I think ‘hmm, we are, by far, not where we want to be as organization. I sincerely invite you [the network] to keep giving suggestions. And if you need me or can use me, then do not hesitate to do so”. [Observation ethnic minority network - Finance] This instance shows how the members of the ethnic minority voice their bother with incidents they encounter in the organization. They talk about awkward comments from colleagues about the Ramadan or about not drinking alcohol. The members of the ethnic minority network ask for a “little bit awareness”, and would like to “invest in these kind of discussions”. Also, members of the network mention the management’s preoccupation with numbers. They assert that organizational equality is not only about numbers. Key performance indicators, diversity charters and quotas alone will not solve organizational inequalities. Lastly, they draw attention to the image of the ideal leader, thereby confronting the director with the organizational processes that still evolve around and reproduce the ethnic majority (and white male) norm. Although the appeal to the management and the organizational culture seems to be taken up by the director to some extent at the end of the meeting (“we are, by far, not where we want to be as organization”), I observe that during the meeting the director shuns the substantive