The Ethics of a Glass Ceiling
Many companies say that they are committed to diversity. But at the same time, two-thirds of the largest firms in the Netherlands don’t have any women in their board of directors. What is going on? (English / SG-Certificate*)
Watch the registration:
What is going on?
75 percent of Dutch employers believe that there is no gender pay gap in their organization. Many of them are wrong: Women still earn 15 percent less than men, which adds up to a difference of 300.000 euros in take-home pay in a working life.
Also, many Dutch companies state that they are committed to diversity and inclusion. But very few women occupy senior management positions in the Netherlands. Two-thirds of the largest firms in the Netherlands don’t have any women in their board of directors.
Why does this happen?
There is growing awareness that gender inequality in the workplace is caused by implicit bias and statistical discrimination. How do these work exactly? And can we hold people responsible for exercising their implicit biases and for statistically discriminating?
What can be done?
What can be done to realize gender equality in the labor market? Should we have stronger legislation on equal pay for equal work? And how about geting more women in senior positions? Are quota a solution, perhaps? Or would these actually hamper the cause of equality?
Panel discussion
Attend this debate on gender diversity in the workplace. Our panelists are:
Paul Berkelmans. Entrepreneur and MA student in Philosophy.
Paul is co-owner and managing director of Eyelove, a leading discount eyewear retailer in The Netherlands. Eyelove offers prescription eyewear at low prices, using a shop-in-shop sales model in pharmacies and drug stores. Before becoming involved with Eyelove, he had a company in software development and studied Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Tilburg University.
Erwin Hieltjes. Economist and social entrepreneur.
Erwin is an economist and social entrepreneur. He is co-founder of Salaristijger, an organisation focused on closing the gender pay gap in the Netherlands, and Director of de Zorgambassade, a healthcare thinktank. Common thread through his career has been equal opportunities, working for organisations supporting underprivileged youth and refugees, and consulting companies on improving diversity and inclusion. He often gives trainings in negotiations and unconscious biases.
Maureen Sie. Professor of Philosophy of Moral Agency.
Professor Sie is professor philosophy of moral agency at the department of philosophy at Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Science. She has published on the moral emotions, moral responsibility, free will, the adaptive unconscious, moral hypocrisy and responsibility for implicit bias.
Roos Slegers. Assistant Professor in Philosophy.
Roos is interested in questions about gender at the intersection of philosophy, literature, and economics. Can love exist in commercial society? What is the role of vanity in the attention economy? Why didn’t Adam Smith show his mother some appreciation? At Tilburg U, she teaches classes on organization ethics, the (im)morality of markets, ethics of AI and big data, and other depressing topics. Roos serves as coordinator for the MA track “Ethiek van bedrijf en organisatie.”
Katarina Mihaljević. Doctoral candidate.
Katarina is a third year doctoral candidate at Tilburg University and works in themes of history of the analytic philosophy, logic, academic exile and applied ethics, a topic which she also teaches at the BA level. She also runs a start-up company in energy industry where she busies herself finding most impactful ways to invest responsibly.
Format
The panel discussion will last for an hour. During this discussion, each participant will briefly introduce a claim about gender equality in the workplace, which will then be discussed for about ten minutes. After the panel discussion, there will be a Q&A of half an hour.
Because of the corona measures, it is only possible to attend this event online. You can participate during the Q&A by asking questions both by unmuting yourself on Zoom and by using the chat function.
More information
This seminar is organized by Studium Generale in cooperation with the Department of Philosophy (Tilburg University).
Contact: Annelieke Koster (Studium Generale).
* For students, this event may count towards the SG-Certificate. Check the SG-Certificate website for all the terms and conditions.
