Marjolein Dennissen

97 Diversity killjoys? organize themselves outside of the structures of the organization (e.g., a network can “just do it”). By means of the buddy system, the disability network fills a void by creating its own structure of support and solidarity against the perceived negligence, resistance and rigor of the organization. Engaging in the diversity networking practice of building alternative structures, network members can collectively organize a support structure; something that would be more difficult to do for individuals. In addition, grassroots initiatives can also have a transformative potential (Benschop et al., 2015; Bettencourt, Dillmann, & Wollman, 1996). By means of their buddy- system the disability network endeavors not only to offer disabled and chronically ill employees support that they are unable to find in the organization, but they also see the buddy-system as a starting point to change the organizational culture. According to the network members, a culture change must “come from the heart”; that is, starting bottom up instead of top down. They argue that if their support structure works, it will “spread like an oil slick” throughout the organization, which would lead to a culture that is more supportive towards its employees. Being a collective network that is not institutionalized, allows members to proceed with the implementation of a support structure without official approval of the organization and without having to conform to the organization at the expense of the grassroots change they endeavor. Organizing events Organizing events is a particular way how diversity networks are able to support their members. The scope and scale of the organized events varies considerably, which signifies the decision- making process that precedes the actual event. Overall, board members of diversity networks discuss, plan, and structure the events they intend to organize. During meetings in which they plan their events, they discuss the objective, frequency (e.g., how many per month/year), type (workshop, keynote, conference), scale (large or small), duration, course and content, drop-in or registration, whether to invite external speakers and whom, and the practicalities such as time, location, and refreshments. In Table 6, I present an overview of a number of events that the diversity networks have organized during the period 2014-2016. This overview shows that the choices made by the network members in the organization process (i.e., objective, format, scale, etcetera) result in a multiplicity of events. Organized events range, for example, from small-scale events open to network members only (such as for example workshops or round table discussion sessions), to large events that are open to all employees of the organization (for example annual thematic conferences). Consequently, how diversity and organizational inequalities are being addressed during these events varies considerably. I distinguish between three categories of events: social events, events where organizational norms are questioned, and events where organizational norms are reproduced.