Gender Equality Plan
Dedicated resources
The commitment of human resources and gender expertise to implement the Gender Equality Plan
TU Delft strives to be a safe, diverse and inclusive learning and working environment for all staff and students. Realising this ambition requires courage and the participation of everyone within the TU Delft community. It starts with having an open dialogue within the TU Delft community about equality, diversity and inclusion in respect of the visible and non-visible differences among all staff and students. To this end, TU Delft has different dedicated resources that contribute to a safe, diverse and inclusive environment.
TU Delft has established a Diversity & Inclusion Office with a Chief Diversity Officer, a diversity & inclusion coordinator and a policy advisor. The D&I Office works to promote a respectful, accessible and inclusive community for all staff, students and guests. The D&I Office does this by focusing on the seven themes together with departments and individuals across TU Delft. These themes include the development of gender equality and a Gendered Research and Innovation (GRI) program. The D&I Office aims to increase its efforts within these seven themes.
The D&I Office aims to have appointed a faculty diversity officer for each faculty by 2022 to promote diversity and inclusion within their faculty. A Diversity Board consisting of various members of the TU Delft community has been set up. The D&I Board acts as an advisory and sounding committee for the Diversity Officer as well as the D&I Office. The board can thus assist and provide input for focus areas, strategy and priorities on D&I themes such as gender equality.
In addition to this, TU Delft has a code of conduct that everyone who is part of the TU Delft community must adhere to. TU Delft supports DEWIS, the women’s network of scientists at TU Delft, and True U, the LGBT-network for employees. Both networks strive to raise awareness about and contribute to an inclusive university.
Data collection and monitoring
Sex- and/or gender-disaggregated data on personnel and students and annual reporting based on indicators
The TU Delft collects and analyses sex/gender-disaggregated data based on actual staff and student numbers. The dashboards as well as the underlying data are automatically refreshed on a monthly basis. A high-level overview is available for all staff at TU Delft, while more detailed analyses are available for specific personnel such as policy advisors and senior leadership. In 2021 a Diversity Dashboard will be launched that will present an overview of relevant data on scientific staff, non-scientific staff and students. The Diversity Dashboard will be expanded in the upcoming years to give more detailed insights into the internal developments in diversity and inclusion. To obtain data based on diversity & inclusion factors other than gender, a subjective survey will be conducted among staff and students in 2022.
Training
Awareness raising/training on gender equality and unconscious gender biases for staff and decision-makers
The TU Delft offers and will continue to develop various training programmes that contribute to tackling gender equality issues. An overview of these training programmes can be found on the Intranet page for employees. The training includes topics such as:
- Social safety
- Intercultural communication
- Inclusive education
- Awareness of (gender) bias in selection
The D&I Office and HR are working on offering unconscious bias training for all staff; this will also cover gender bias. In addition, career coaches are available to support staff in their career progression. The Graduate School supports PhD students in their development through access to career coaches, workshops, mentors and student support staff, amongst others.
Work-life balance and organisational culture
People are central to TU Delft. As an organisation we acknowledge the importance of a healthy work-life balance and organisational culture. TU Delft offers a Vitality Programme that includes the Health Coach Programme (HCP), an e-supported lifestyle programme that focuses on nutrition, exercise and stress management. In addition, TU Delft offers childcare provisions and maternity, paternity and parental leave provisions.
Gender equality in recruitment and career progression
A safe and inclusive working environment at TU Delft starts with the honest and transparent recruitment and selection of new colleagues. Therefore, in addition to its own code of conduct, TU Delft follows the 'NVP Recruitment Code', a code of conduct drawn up by The Dutch Network for HR-Professionals (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Personeelsmanagement en Organisatieontwikkeling, NVP). By following the ground rules in this code of conduct we aim to provide a clear application procedure that ensures that staff and students can count on equal treatment and a fair chance. TU Delft also contributes to a healthy and attractive research climate at European level. That is why the European Commission has awarded us the HR Excellence in Research logo.
TU Delft values diversity and inclusion and we strive to integrate these values throughout our organisation. To ensure inclusive recruitment and selection, TU Delft is currently working on creating a selection toolkit; one of its aims will be to improve (gender) bias awareness. We are closely monitoring our commitment to increasing the proportion of female professors at TU Delft. As a university of technology we are working towards reaching a greater equality target, such as 25% female professors, in 2025.
The DelftTF contributes to improving the gender balance at TU Delft. The Delft Technology Fellowship is a means for externally recruiting exceptional female academic researchers for Full Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor positions.
Measures & Targets: Against gender-based violence including sexual harassment
Diversity, integrity, respect, engagement, courage and trust are core values of TU Delft. Dedicated structures have been set up to safeguard and support these values. This includes the Integrity Office, a network of confidential counsellors and an Ombuds Officer.
Additionally, training on social safety can be found on our Intranet page, and a committee on dealing with undesirable behaviour has been installed. Every year, TU Delft conducts an analysis and draws up a safety risk profile for the organisation.
Integration of the gender dimension into research and teaching content
Under the Convergence Programme with Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC, TU Delft is joining forces and integrating knowledge, expertise and methodology. Within this context an Inclusive Research and Innovation programme is being developed that includes Gendered Innovations. We aim to establish joint research projects that will take on aspects of diversity through the entire research and design process, leading to a range of results and solutions that can be applied to diverse users. This work will leverage the collaborations between various disciplines, particularly between engineering/physics/medicine on the one hand and social sciences/humanities on the other.