Today the Inclusive30 was published – and I’m in it. That’s cool and beautiful, but also feels a bit awkward. Because I may be the face of Refugee Talent Hub, the results we achieve are really mainly the merit of a whole lot of other people.

MT/Sprout is publishing the Inclusive30 for the fifth year in a row; the list of thirty people who demonstrably make the business world more diverse, inclusive and equal. It is an honor to be on the list - but I feel like I am there on behalf of all the other people who are working hard to make this happen.

 First of all, top performers like Orhan , Weam and Ramy , who did not let themselves be discouraged. Imagine: fleeing your country, being reduced to a number, often waiting for years, learning another (difficult!) language, moving from one asylum seekers' centre to another, rediscovering your profession or learning another one, running into walls, receiving rejection after rejection, answering strange questions in your job interview (" What are your hobbies? "), integrating, accepting a job below your level, trying to understand what a bila and a vrijmibo are, working agilely - and in the meantime hoping that your family can come over and that you can finally see your children again. My life and my job are a piece of cake compared to them.

 And besides, incomparable, but still: our contacts at the large employers we work with, they are also heroes. People like Janine , Rob and Frank at management level, but especially people who do the daily work, like Marjolein and Froukje, Marriet, Iris, Amin . Who work hard every day for more opportunities for newcomers within EY, TenneT, Enexis, Alliander and all our other corporate partners . Who do not simply accept 'no', but ask why a candidate with a history of flight is rejected, who look for goat trails when the beaten paths lead to a dead end, and who enjoy organizing sparkling meetings for and with newcomers.

 Finally: our social partners without whom we could not and would not want to work, and of course my colleagues at Refugee Talent Hub . Coincidentally, we had a team day yesterday. I looked around in Amsterdam's Oosterpark and saw twenty very different people with one mission and a great drive to realize it. Twenty alert minds and twenty buckets full of energy to make a difference for every newcomer at every employer. Top people with whom I really enjoy working together.

 In short: thank you thank you thank you, really a thousand times thank you for this beautiful entry in the list! I am very happy with it. And I hereby gladly share it with those who do the real work. My entry is yours. Courageously forward!

 Read more (in Dutch):

• Employers with diverse staff are demonstrably more successful - interview with Wilma on Change.inc
• Newcomers must be able to participate from their first day in the Netherlands - interview with Wilma in the Financieele Dagblad
• About research, common sense and no-brainers - blog by Wilma about the report 'Better work opportunities for asylum seekers - social cost-benefit analysis in broad outline'