Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Diversity Policy in Practice

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
European Cities, Municipal Organizations and Diversity

Part of the book series: Global Diversities ((GLODIV))

  • 337 Accesses

Abstract

What are the different triggers for and shared definitions of diversity policies in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Leeds? How are departments being reshaped to implement diversity policies, and how are they located within local bureaucratic organizations? How do local authorities recruit the bureaucrats who are then put in charge of implementing diversity policies? And how do the practices of these bureaucrats reflect the shared definition of diversity policies? This chapter develops my argument that a politics of diversity depends not only on the underlying political concepts, but also on the dispositions of the officials who interpret these concepts in their work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    minderhedenbeleid.

  2. 2.

    Here, Leeds went beyond national policies and law, as the national level at this time was focusing on securitization in the field of integration in response to the 7/7/2005 London bombings, and introduced a combination of different categories with the Equality Act in 2010.

  3. 3.

    As did the previous ‘Race Equality Scheme 2002–05’.

  4. 4.

    After positive evaluation in the ‘Equality and Diversity Strategy Review: Analysis of outcomes and involvement’, the policy was continued in 2008 by means of the ‘Equality and Diversity Scheme 2008–11’.

  5. 5.

    These priorities are published in the city priority plan for 2011–14, which was entitled ‘Leeds 2015: Our vision to be the best city in the UK’ (Leeds, 2011). The City Priority and Council Business Plans also take into account the current financial context by providing a smaller, more focused set of ‘must-do’ priorities for the city and Council. These priorities are measured through a number of indicators which identify the issues where the city really wanted to make a difference. (City of Leeds, 2011b, p. 16).

  6. 6.

    The Centre for Migrant Workers (‘Centrum voor Buitenlandse Werknemers’) played a central role here. Today this organization has been renamed ‘De Acht’ and functions as the integration centre for Antwerp, funded by the Flemish government.

  7. 7.

    Provided through the ‘Sociaal Impulsfonds’ (SIF).

  8. 8.

    ‘Interdepartmentaal Overleg Commissies’ (IOCs).

  9. 9.

    ‘Allemaal Antwerpenaars’.

  10. 10.

    ‘Integratie dienst’.

  11. 11.

    ‘Integratiebeleid’.

  12. 12.

    ‘Integratie dienst’.

  13. 13.

    ‘Sociale Tolkendienst’.

  14. 14.

    ‘Centrale voor sociale taalbemiddeling’.

  15. 15.

    ‘Project Integratie Nieuwkomers Antwerpen’ (PINA)—This service was initially developed by the ‘Centrum voor Buitenlandse Werknemers’, but in 1999 became a municipal service and was integrated as part of DIA in 2000.

  16. 16.

    ‘Beleidsplan etnisch culturele minderheden 2000–2002’.

  17. 17.

    I will in the following use ‘city council’ and ‘municipal organization’ interchangeably, the former being the official denomination in the UK context for what is called ‘municipal organization’ (‘stedelijke organisatie’) in the Dutch and Flemish contexts.

  18. 18.

    The Flemish minorities decree was in place since 1998.

  19. 19.

    After it was convicted for discriminating foreigners in 2004, ‘Vlaams Blok’ was renamed as ‘Vlaams Belang’.

  20. 20.

    ‘Openbar Centrum voor Maatschappelijk Welzijn’.

  21. 21.

    ‘Stadsplan Diversiteit 2008–12’.

  22. 22.

    ‘Samenleven in diversiteit: Beleidsplan 2009–11’.

  23. 23.

    ‘Raamnota Gemeentelijk Minderhedenbeleid’.

  24. 24.

    ‘burgerschap’.

  25. 25.

    See, for example: ‘Burgerschap en Diversiteit: Geen burgerschap zonder hoffelijkheid 2011’(Gemeente Amsterdam, 2011b), ‘Amsterdam is er klaar mee: Beleidsbrief Discriminatie 2011–14’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2011a); ‘Meerjarenbeleidsplan Participatie 2011–14’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2011g); ‘Aanpak discriminatie 2009–10’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2009a); ‘Actieprogramma Amsterdam Gay Capital 2009–11’(Gemeente Amsterdam, 2009b); ‘Perspectief en Kansen: Amsterdam’s integratiebeleid tegen de achtergrond van het programma Wij Amsterdammers 2006’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2006).

  26. 26.

    ‘programmas’.

  27. 27.

    ‘burgerschap’.

  28. 28.

    ‘burgerschap’.

  29. 29.

    ‘Burgerschap en diversiteit’. In recently published factsheets for the different programmes on the website, ‘burgerschap’ is depicted as general label for integration policy and as a guiding concept for all programmes in Amsterdam. (http://www.amsterdam.nl/gemeente/organisatie-diensten/dmo/burgerschap/).

  30. 30.

    ‘Inrichtingsplan afdeling BIND 2010’; ‘Afdelingsjaarplan Burgerschap en Diversiteit 2010’.

  31. 31.

    ‘integratie’.

  32. 32.

    ‘De kracht van een diverse stad’.

  33. 33.

    ‘Implementatieplan van De Kracht van een diverse stad’.

  34. 34.

    ‘Erbij horen en meedoen: Uitgangspunten voor integratie in Amsterdam’.

  35. 35.

    ‘Integratie in Amsterdam: werk in uitvoering’.

  36. 36.

    However, none of my interviewees mentioned such an economic rationale in their interviews, and there was no official documentation of municipalities’ decision-making on restructuring existing departments. Interviewees have mentioned several other possible reasons, such as the aim of creating an identification of officers with the new diversity policy, the aim of addressing the negative reputation of existing departments, the belief in organizational-change theories and their assumption of frequent reorganization as increasing efficiency (Interview A7 546), and the symbolic effect for the broader public of having a diversity department.

  37. 37.

    In England, a municipal council is the local government of a municipality, which is both a legal and executive body. For relevant legislation see Local Government Act 2000 (Government of the United Kingdom, 2000).

  38. 38.

    ‘Bureau voor diversiteitsmanagement’: I also conducted several interviews with the department focused on the external dimension, but the latter department was where I carried out my fieldwork and spent the most time.

  39. 39.

    ‘Afdeling voor diversiteit en integratie’: It was later renamed ‘Afdeling Burgerschap en diversiteit’.

  40. 40.

    It was embedded in the ‘Dienst Maatschappelijke Ontwikkeling’ (‘Directorate for Societal Development’).

  41. 41.

    ‘Samenleven in diversiteit’.

  42. 42.

    ‘Integrale Veiligheid’.

  43. 43.

    About 30 staff members worked in the external department, which was called ‘Meeting each other’

  44. 44.

    ‘Dienst Integratie Antwerpen’ (DIA).

  45. 45.

    The service which provides political assistance to the aldermen and which is located in the central townhall.

  46. 46.

    ‘Directorate for Societal Development’.

  47. 47.

    Only one officer remained in the ‘Bestuursdienst’. This was in the function of ‘political advisor’ responsible for bridging policy-making and implementation, as well as the two different locations. This strict delineation, however, no longer held in practice, one diversity officer said, as the delineation of policy advisors and diversity officers was sometimes blurred.

  48. 48.

    PPT ‘De kunst van het verbinden: Start van de Unit diversiteit en integratie in 2007, DMO’.

  49. 49.

    ‘Stadsdelen’.

  50. 50.

    PPT ‘De kunst van het verbinden: Start van de Unit diversiteit en integratie in 2007, DMO’.

  51. 51.

    The central manager of PAS (the ‘regisseur sociale cohesie’) and several other team members of PAS have left in the process.

  52. 52.

    The concept of diversity was evaluated as giving less idea of what the department aimed to do, as it would now just refer to a fact without providing any target in itself. The core elements of the department’s activities are thus purportedly given more concrete terms, such as emancipation and participation, prevention of radicalization, strengthening of social cohesion, stimulating inclusive ‘burgerschap’, and so forth. Each of these core elements was organized along a ‘programmatic organizational approach’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2010b) A ‘programme’ was defined by the prominent consulting firm Twynstra Gudde for the municipality of Amsterdam as ‘a combination of temporary, linked and dynamic targets, investments and resources, which in a specified environment and in view of restricted resources require to be managed, so that the targets are pursued’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2010c).

  53. 53.

    This count excludes several trainees, one freelance team member who was on sick leave due to a serious health condition, and one temporary head of department who was going to take over the tasks of the current head of department, who was about to go on maternity leave, for a short period.

  54. 54.

    Notes from team meeting 13/9/2011. External recruitment in Leeds was frozen at the time of my research and only in exceptional circumstances might exceptions be made, and these would need to be signed off by the director. Also, within the department. there was hardly any prospect for junior offices moving up the hierarchy. According to one diversity officer, any position that became vacant was most likely not going to be replaced.

  55. 55.

    Some of the team members were ‘experts’ on ethno-cultural minorities, highly educated allochtonous, gender, disability, gay, poor, young, and older people.

  56. 56.

    The work profile however was about to be changed at the time of my research traineeship, and since then the department has substantially reduced its consultation activities vis-à-vis the rest of the municipal organization to focus more on the implementation of projects with external relevance (Stad Antwerpen, 2011).

  57. 57.

    ‘Amsterdam is er klaar mee: Beleidsbrief discriminatie 2011–12’.

  58. 58.

    ‘Meldpunt Discriminatie’, see website: http://www.mdra.nl

  59. 59.

    ‘sociale binding’.

  60. 60.

    ‘Programme Amsterdam Together’.

  61. 61.

    Back then the department was called ‘diversiteit en integratie’.

  62. 62.

    With this reconceptualization of the agenda, the city also envisaged a redistribution of responsibilites for the prevention of polarization. The department ‘Burgerschap & diversiteit’ would focus more on the preventative aspects, whereas the more repressive aspects would be dealt with by the directorate for public order and safety (‘Directie Openbare Orde en Veiligheid’).

  63. 63.

    ‘Burgerschap’.

  64. 64.

    ‘Burgerschap en diversiteit’.

  65. 65.

    ‘burgerschap’.

  66. 66.

    ‘courtesy’.

  67. 67.

    ‘Stadsdelen’.

  68. 68.

    The department further works together with the municipal directorate for research and statistics for the development of the ‘Integration and diversity monitor’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2011c) and the yearly report on the ‘State of the city’ (Gemeente Amsterdam, 2011h) publications, which provide statistical data and data from the city’s resident surveys. The department also managed its own funding scheme for minority initiatives and organizations, the so-called ‘Subsidieverordening Integratie en Participatie’ (SIP). The SIP regulation focuses on voluntary activities that span different urban districts, whereas the individual urban districts have additional funding provisions in place which target initiatives on the neighbourhood level. Over the years, the city of Amsterdam has moved from giving structural subsidies to migrant associations, to more project-related subsidies for all voluntary organizations, to again providing some periodic funding to selected organizations. These were made conditional on collaboration with other organizations and on linking different groups of Amsterdam’s residents with one another.

  69. 69.

    These directorates are ‘Adult Social Care’, ‘Children’s Services’, ‘City Development’, and ‘Environment and Neighbourhoods’.

  70. 70.

    For a discussion of methodology, see the section on the UK’s equality legislation in Chap. 4.

  71. 71.

    Proposal for quality assurance of ‘giving due regard’, presented at Equality and Diversity Board, 8/9/2011.

  72. 72.

    Consultancy claimed the lion’s share of the department’s human resources, with 10 of 14 team members working on consultancy in Antwerp and five out of ten team members working on consultancy in Leeds, three of whom dedicated their full time and two part of their time to this task.

  73. 73.

    These directorates at the time of my research were organized along four themes: ‘Adult Social Care’, ‘Children’s Services’, ‘City Development’, and ‘Environment and Neighborhoods’.

  74. 74.

    City of Amsterdam, memo 27 May 2011 from diversity officer to alderwoman Van Es.

  75. 75.

    (Schop, 2015)

  76. 76.

    ‘gewoon schipperen’.

  77. 77.

    In Amsterdam, 10 of the 14 team members were involved in implementing the department’s different work programmes. In Antwerp, most of the 10 team members who consulted other departments were selected for carrying out project work in the future, as it had been decided that consultancy activities were to be reduced at the time of my research.

  78. 78.

    ‘burgerschap’.

  79. 79.

    The notion of ‘implementation gap’ has been developed by Lahav and Guiraudon (2006), amongst others, who applied it to their analysis of the policy area of immigration control by national governments.

Bibliography

  • Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Oxford: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • City of Leeds. (2006a). Equality and diversity strategy 2006–2008. Leeds: City of Leeds Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • City of Leeds. (2006b). The work of the equality team. Leeds: City of Leeds Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • City of Leeds. (2011a). Diversity peer challenge report. Leeds: City of Leeds Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2011/41/leeds%20city%20council%20dpc%20report.pdf

  • City of Leeds. (2011b). Equality and diversity strategy 2011–2015. Leeds: City of Leeds Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • City of Leeds. (2011c). Leeds: State of the city. Leeds: City of Leeds Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dean, M. (2010). Governmentality: Power and rule in modern society. Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington, DC: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Essed, P., & De Graaff, M. (2002). De actualiteit van diversiteit. Het gemeentelijke beleid onder de loep. Utrecht/Den Haag: Forum/E-Quality.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faist, T. (2009). Diversity- a new mode of incorporation? Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(1), 171–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1991). Governmentality. In G. Burchell, C. Gordon, & P. Miller (Eds.), The Foucault effect: Studies in governmentality. London/Toronto/Sydney/Tokyo/Singapore: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (1999). Notitie ‘De kracht van een diverse stad’. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2000). Implementatieplan ‘De kracht van een diverse stad’. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2003). Erbij horen en meedoen: Uitgangspunten voor integratie in de gemeente Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2006). Perspectief en Kansen: Amsterdam’s integratiebeleid tegen de achtergrond van het programma Wij Amsterdammers 2006. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2009a). Aanpak discriminatie 2009–2010. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2009b). Actieprogramma Amsterdam gay capital 2009–2011. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2010a). Afdelingsjarenplan Burgeschap, Integratie en Diversiteit 2010. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2010b). Concept Inrichting Afdeling BIND! Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2010c). PPT Opbouwen programma rond problematiek Amsterdamse Antilleanen 2010–2014’. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011a). Amsterdam is er klaar mee: Beleidsbrief Discriminatie 2011–2014’. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.amsterdam.nl/publish/pages/F569558/120911_beleidsbrief_discriminatie.pdf

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011b). Burgerschap en Diversiteit: Geen burgerschap zonder hoffelijkheid. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.cocamsterdam.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/brief-burgerschap-17mei2011def.pdf

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011c). Diversiteits- en Integratiemonitor. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011d). Factsheet Emancipatie: Economische zelfstandigheid en zelfbeschikking. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.amsterdam.nl/gemeente/organisatie-diensten/dmo/burgerschap/kopie-vrouwen

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011e). Factsheet Homo-emancipatie: diversiteit geeft kleur aan de stad. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.amsterdam.nl/gemeente/organisatie-diensten/dmo/burgerschap/homo-emancipatie

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011f). Factsheet: Geen burgerschap zonder hoffelijkheid. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.amsterdam.nl/gemeente/organisatie-diensten/dmo/burgerschap/beleidsbrief

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011g). Meerjarenplan Participatie 2011–2014. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing. Retrieved from www.amsterdam.nl/publish/pages/456812/wei_sub_1_p_52.pdf

  • Gemeente Amsterdam. (2011h). Staat van de stad Amsterdam IV: Ontwikkelingen in participatie en leefsituatie. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of the United Kingdom. (2000). Local Government Act 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gsir, S. (2009). Diversity policy in employment and service provision. Case study Antwerp, Belgium. Dublin: Eurofound.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lahav, G., & Guiraudon, V. (2006). Actors and venues in immigration control: Closing the gap between political demands and policy outcomes. West European Politics, 29(2), 201–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leeds, C. o. (2011). Leeds 2015: Our vision to be the best city in the UK. City priority plan 2011 to 2015. From http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/Leeds%20City%20Priority%20Plan.pdf

  • Schop, G. J. (2015). Voorbeelden van interventies. From http://www.praktijkcaseveranderen.nl/

  • Stad Antwerpen. (1999). Allemaal Antwerpenaars. Antwerpen: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stad Antwerpen. (2001). Stadsgenoten: Actieplan voor een stedelijk diversiteitsbeleid. Antwerpen: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stad Antwerpen. (2003). Antwerpen voor iedereen kleurrijk: Beleidsnota 2003–2006. Antwerpen: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stad Antwerpen. (2008). Stadsplan diversiteit 2008–2012. Antwerpen: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stad Antwerpen. (2009a). Samenleven in diversiteit: Eenheid in Verscheidenheid en verscheidenheid in eenheid: Beleidsplan 2009–2011. Antwerp: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stad Antwerpen. (2009b). Stadsplan Diversiteit: Speerpuntacties 2009–2010. Antwerpen: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stad Antwerpen. (2011). Speerpuntacties diversiteitsbeleid 2011–2012. Antwerp: Stad Antwerpen Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uitermark, J., & Van Steenbergen, F. (2006). Postmulticulturalisme en stedelijk burgerschap: Over de neoliberale transformatie van het Amsterdamse integratiebeleid. Sociologie, 2(3), 265–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermeulen, F. (2008). In N. Institute (Ed.), ‘Between idealism and pragmatism: Pracititioners working with immigrant youth in Amsterdam and Berlin’, Diversiteit in uitvoering: lokaal beleid voor werkloze migrantenjongeren in Amsterdam en Berlijn. Den Haag: Amsterdam University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermeulen, F., & Plaggenborg, T. (2009). Between idealism and pragmatism: Pracititioners working with immigrant youth in Amsterdam and Berlin. In J. W. Duyvendak, F. Hendriks, & M. Van Niekerk (Eds.), City in sight: Dutch dealings with urban change. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wacquant, L. (Ed.). (2005). Pierre Bourdieu and democratic politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zincone, G. (2011). Conclusion: Comparing the making of migration policies. In G. Zincone, R. Penninx, & M. Borkert (Eds.), Migration policymaking in Europe: The dynamics of actors and contexts in past and present. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. multireligiöser Gesellschaften, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, Germany

    Maria Schiller

Authors
  1. Maria Schiller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Schiller, M. (2016). Diversity Policy in Practice. In: European Cities, Municipal Organizations and Diversity. Global Diversities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52185-9_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52185-9_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-52183-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-52185-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation