Many people in the workplace feel ‘different’ from colleagues, although no one sees that directly from them. ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or an introverted personality, companies are more aware of the invisible differences. A Diversity policy helps. And that benefits both employees and the company.

In brief

• Research shows that many people feel different from their peers and adapt to the dominant standard of not being left out.
• A Diversity policy is more effective when it also focuses on invisible differences.
• Abroad, various companies give specific attention to ‘neurodiversity’, in the Netherlands the concept is also gaining ground.

  A woman does not necessarily bring diversity. Esther Mollema often starts training with this statement. “Then everyone is immediately awake.” Mollema gives diversity training to teams from, among others, ABN Amro and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Like most large organizations, they have a diversity policy that focuses on attracting women and people with different cultural backgrounds. But, says Mollema, that’s just a tip of the iceberg called diversity. Gender and skin color are characteristics that make people visibly different. But there are also differences between people you don’t see but that have a major impact on how they feel and how they function in the workplace.

  Read the whole article about diversity policy on FD.nl
  Source: FD Author: Maartje Laterveer