When innovation is the USP
Wendy Broersen: “We are here to help you. You want a more diverse workforce to keep innovating, find new markets, design for a large audience, and create a great organizational culture where employees feel happy and can thrive. We don’t write reports on how to achieve that, but we sit right next to you and help you activate, motivate, and inspire you and your colleagues to define and create that desired diverse and inclusive culture. And we are right there with our knowledge and set of innovative tools to help you create that faster and easier. We use gamification, AR, VR, and our revolutionary maturity model and method called AIM, An Inclusion Model.”
The Genesis
Wendy Broersen: “When the financial crisis hit in 2010, my other company in advertising, communication, and gamification was thriving because I had invested online. But I saw a lot of other entrepreneurs struggling. So, I decided to set up an event for female entrepreneurs where they could get inspired, obtain knowledge, and expand their network (all growth factors). To do so, I acquired sponsors. They sent their female employees to our events and came back inspired and activated. At one time, the head of HR of one of our biggest sponsors came to me and asked me if I could set something up for all their employees to create a similar effect. My second company, Superwomen Academy, was born. As a woman, I also know what it is like to be underestimated, discriminated against, and assessed by different standards, both as an employee in a male-dominated field and as a female entrepreneur. Which enables me to look at systems, structures, and processes in a different way to make them more inclusive. I made damn sure to create a diverse team as well. I am an optimist and love bringing people together because I firmly believe that our differences will only make us drift away from each other. We can only create inclusion when we focus on what we have in common.”
Witnessing the change happen
Wendy Broersen: “Fortunately for me, times are good because diversity and inclusion are on the agenda of most large companies, and even smaller companies are taking steps. And not only on gender balance but all kinds of diversity. 10 years ago, only the most visionary companies were working on this. I also see a lot of new companies emerge that deliver similar services, which is a good thing.
Knowledge and sharing of best practices are lacking, though, so I try to speak at as many events and conferences as I possibly can. I also set up a D&I Master Program at the University of Amsterdam to bring science, research, and practical experts together and bring that knowledge to the participants.”