On the way to an inclusive organisation

TNO believes that everyone, however different, should have the same opportunities to participate and to grow. In society in general, and also as an employee and colleague. This is why TNO wants to be a place where diversity and inclusion are the most normal things in the world. Where we all feel at home and able to be ourselves.

Every day, we make a real effort to create a working environment where everyone is part of the team and feels included. In doing so, we provide the space for diversity that is crucial for successful innovation. By bringing together people with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and ideas, we become more creative, innovative and impactful. We also make better decisions and perform better in the long run. This is how we can contribute to the world of tomorrow together.

Diverse and inclusive organisation

We demonstrate that we are a diverse and inclusive organisation in a number of ways:

We communicate in Dutch and English, depending on the situation. We offer courses to those who want to improve their Dutch or English skills.
When recruiting new talent, we aim for more cultural diversity. This enriches our research and gives us more opportunities in a larger international market. Did you know that about 30% of our Junior Scientists are non-Dutch nationals?
Our organisation has 31 per cent women, and that percentage is growing. Through mentoring and the Female Leadership Programme, we actively support our female colleagues in achieving their ambitions. Currently, women hold half of the senior management positions at TNO (this includes Supervisory Board members, Executive Board members and Directors).
We are proud of our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) communities, set up by colleagues, which give additional support to female colleagues, international colleagues and the LGBTQIA+ community at TNO.
As from 2022, our employee satisfaction survey will also measure the extent to which TNO staff feel accepted, experience equal treatment and consider TNO a diverse organisation. We will use the survey's findings on these issues to set goals and make agreements at all levels of the organisation.
We offer a training course that highlights D&I issues. On request, we organize courses for management and employees on how to deal with unconscious bias. In 2022 we will pay extra attention to inclusive leadership; and to inclusive processes in 2023.

Diversity and inclusion at TNO

Within TNO, we are working on diversity and inclusion by focusing on themes such as policy, culture, making processes more inclusive, and communication. The employee groups (Rainbow@TNO, Women@TNO and the cultural diversity group), together with the D&I officer, provide support and feedback to the D&I Board. The D&I Board has 5 working groups: Policy and Strategy, Communication, Knowledge and Measurement, Processes and Activities.

Gender equality plan

Find out more about what TNO does to increase and safeguard gender equality: within the organisation, in our research and in society through our innovations.

Download the plan (pdf)

Strategy 2022-2025

For us, diversity and inclusion is more than a project or programme. It is part of the TNO strategy for 2022-2025 and is embedded in the organisation. We are proud to have a D&I Board, presided over by the chair of the Executive Board. A D&I officer has been appointed to create a diverse and inclusive culture and to raise awareness. The D&I project group provides support with the implementation of the D&I policy. And our D&I forum, a cross-section of the organisation, contributes ideas on D&I policy and its implementation. We are constantly working together to make TNO an even better place to work.