Articles

Contested Collaborations. Diversity Change Agents Practicing Boundary Work in the Dutch Military

---

Abstract

Power and resistance are inherent to diversity work and, especially in large organizations, oftentimes multiple individual and collective actors will work on diversity change simultaneously. Yet, the (lack of) collaboration between diversity change agents within the same organization remains understudied. This paper draws on a case study of diversity work in the Dutch military. Analyzing diversity change agents’ dynamics of collaboration and competition through the notion of boundary work, we show diversity change agents practicing boundary work on three issues: 1) responsibility for and ownership of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) policies, 2) representation and voice of organizational minority groups, and 3) the scope of diversity and inclusion. We explore the ways in which diversity change agents draw, defend, downplay and change those boundaries. We conclude that the ways in which diversity work is organized can encourage or hinder collaboration between diversity change agents, which impacts the extent to which they can combat organizational inequalities. 

Keywords: diversity work, diversity change agents, collaboration, competition, boundary work

How to Cite:

van Douwen, N., van den Brink, M. & Benschop, Y., (2026) “Contested Collaborations. Diversity Change Agents Practicing Boundary Work in the Dutch Military”, DiGeSt - Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies 13(1), 77–95. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/digest.93846