Diversity: the illusion of TU Delft

‘Is the entire board of TU Delft so explicitly pro-LGBTQIA+?’ I read on Instagram, below TU Delft’s proud post about its first presence in the Canal Parade. With diversity as one of six core values, I should be screaming yes, but I am not.

Looi van Kessel, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, made me question this through a post on LinkedIn (in Dutch). This post is extremely critical of the diversity policy at Leiden University. The sentence that stays with me the most is ‘[…] the networks and D&I (diversity and inclusion) officers are left to explain to students that change in an organisation goes slowly. This while they themselves also think this change necessary.’

As an advocate for inclusion and a member of the Aerospace Engineering (AE) Faculty D&I team, I ask myself whether TU Delft’s Board has enacted an effective diversity policy?

No all-gender bathrooms yet

Take the topic of all-gender bathrooms. In the article February 2023 where I address this issue, they mention ‘that all (education) buildings on TU Delft campus will have a block of all gender toilets’. Almost three years later, the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering has gotten more women’s toilets, but there is still no gender neutral bathroom. I have yet to figure out where the all-gender bathrooms are at other faculties.

More inclusive education. That’s something you would expect with diversity as a core value, isn’t it? At my own Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, I have barely seen this happen. Most teachers still use outdated, badly accessible slides, and many know very little about inclusive language. On the one hand, D&I training is not part of the university teaching qualification (UTQ), on the other hand the available support and resources are hard to find in TU Delft’s website’s many menus. Teachers only find these tools when they already want to work on inclusivity. The few improvements come from the handful of motivated teachers, not from management or the Board.

The only diversity training there is, consists of a stereotypical portrayal of cultural differences

For me, the training for coaches and tutors of the Design and Synthesis Exercise (the bachelor thesis project at AE) is the culmination of this issue. The only diversity training there is, consists of a stereotypical portrayal of cultural differences, with the goal of teaching us how to deal with the diversity of nationalities within our project group/groups. The fact that this regularly comes up in conversations with my colleagues, without any changes, says a lot.

Being a member of a faculty D&I team is a great effort on top of our daily jobs. The Aerospace Engineering Faculty is plagued by complex D&I issues, such as increasing the number of female students, the resignation of full professor Daphne Stam, and the wake of the Inspectorate report on social safety. Our Faculty management team looks to the D&I team for advice and solutions. Despite this, it is hard to take training so we can deal with these issues effectively. The diversity policy thus rests on the work of untrained volunteers. Members of the D&I teams get nothing in return, except additional risks. It feels like an unfair battle against an organisation that would rather maintain the status quo.

Participation in Canal Pride

Returning to TU Delft in the Amsterdam Canal Parade, the university is clearly very proud. Without the daring idea of the initiators, Mechanical Engineering employees Gracia and Emiel, it would never have happened. The fact that those wishing to join had to contribute between EUR 25 and EUR 125, is not mentioned anywhere. Furthermore, the theme of the parade, ‘love’, was nowhere to be found. The design of the boat, slogan and T-shirts were a lot of ‘TU Delft’, and very little ‘pride’. On top of this, members were prohibited from showing political messages because we were representing TU Delft. If not for the creativity of participants and the rainbow flags, we could just as well have been at an information market. The organisation of our presence rested on the shoulders of the members, so TU Delft could look good.

And thus, the Diversity Policy of the Executive Board fell short. I am a big proponent of bottom-up changes, but not if they fully rely on volunteers and individuals who get little help or compensation. The Executive Board may have written a great looking policy, but in my eight years at TU Delft, little has changed.

Despite my criticism, I want to end this piece with hope. There is a lot happening behind the scenes. The central D&I office presented a first look at the new Diversity Policy at the opening of the D&I week. The goals are more concrete, and there is a clear intention to do more than just bottom-up and voluntary initiatives. Along with the new Executive and Supervisory Boards, I am hopeful for a new, better course at TU Delft.