Snubbed at Diversity Works

Imagine walking into a huge diversity event in Amsterdam only to be immediately dissed by the first person you encounter, accused of not being Dutch enough and of having an inferior degree.  Ouch!  As my colleague Lisa and I entered the event, we decided to browse the fair and in the first row we spotted a stand with at least 20 posters saying in Dutch “Women Network” and “International Contacts”.  An obvious instant attraction for us.  Familiar with the acronym of the organization sponsoring the stand, Lisa whispered to me as we approached that this group was for women with high degrees, HBO in the Dutch system, (not the American cable network that brought you Sex and the City and The Sopranos).   The American equivalent of the HBO degree is usually a little less than, and at most equal to a 4 year bachelors degree.  Commendable, but nothing to be elitist about!  Having a masters degree myself, I continued my approach without trepidation, unprepared for the condescending thrashing I was about to endure.

Luckily, I was not actually interested in joining this network, but as the head of an organization of professional women, most highly educated and many international, I thought it might be interesting for our members.  To my shock and horror, I asked the woman representing this organization if she could tell me something about their network, instead of responding to my question, she came back with a barrage of (dis)qualifying questions and immediately tried to push me off to another organization, of which I am already a member.  She rattled off a list of reasons why I, and all of the 90 women that I represented would not fit into their group, without ever saying what they were doing.  Absurd!  She really seemed to have a problem with the fact that I was not Dutch, and she could not get over it.  Even when I mentioned nearly half of the women in our network are Dutch, she stressed that they would have to speak Dutch perfectly, emphasizing the word perfectly! 

What was this woman doing at a Diversity Fair? I have intentionally withheld the identity of the organization she represented, because I have to believe that she does not accurately reflect their views, but again, what in the world was she doing there? The Dutch Police had a big stand at the fair in an effort to attract a more diverse work force, so I should have reported this woman to the Diversity Police!

You will hear much more from me on the harmful effects of the Dutch tendencies to label and segregate groups. For now, I leave you with these questions.

Who represents you and your (business) interests?

How can you ensure that they project the image and values of you and your organization?

Corporations spend a fortune trying to indoctrinate their employees as disciples, how can small business owners excel in this challenge? 

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