Personal drive
For Versteden – van Duijn, promoting diversity is a personal driving force. Since the beginning of her career, she has been an advocate for equal opportunities that transcend gender, background, and socioeconomic differences. “Inclusion is a topic close to my heart” she explains. “I grew up in Australia, in an environment where girls were not always accepted, under modest circumstances and far from modern city life. It is important to me that everyone gets a fair chance.” McKinsey’s latest ‘Women in the Workplace’-report emphasises the benefits of gender diversity in leadership, such as better financial performance, attracting and retaining talent, more innovation, greater employee engagement, and a positive societal impact. “I want to contribute to a society where so-called differences – like gender, background, or sexual orientation – do not matter,” says Versteden – van Duijn. “At bol, we want to set a good example. This is the moment. We must rewrite the narrative.”

Where bol stands now
The board of bol consists of 44% women, compared to a national average of 14.7% in the Netherlands, as reported in the SER Scorecard 2024. For other management positions, an average of 26.3% were held by women at the time of the SER measurement (December 2022). Back then, bol already outperformed with 37% and, in the meantime, has grown to 41%. Overall, the full bol workforce is 41% female, compared to 32.7% on average.

How bol got here
For years, bol has actively worked to boost diversity and gender balance by, for example:

• Implementing quotas for 50% women in top management and leadership positions
• Ensuring ‘balanced slates’ in recruitment processes, including top positions and IT
• Offering online training to combat unconscious bias and strengthen objectivity and inclusion, with additional sessions for those involved in hiring processes
• Sharing role model blogs and setting up an employer branding campaign to actively recruit women in tech
• Establishing communities to create a safe and inclusive space for cultural diversity, women in tech, neurodiversity, internationals, queer bol and young bol

At the latest European Women in Tech Conference, bol’s Chief Product Officer, Maite Zubiaurre, delivered a keynote titled ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’. In addition, tech lead Raisa Machado ran a workshop and engineering manager Noha Shafik was interviewed about the attention diversity receives in the industry.

Bol continues to work diligently on initiatives for gender balance in tech focused on:

• Providing scholarships for youth (with a focus on women) from disadvantaged backgrounds who otherwise wouldn’t have access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) studies.
• Reskilling to a career in IT
• Ensuring a diverse interview pool for hiring, in collaboration with Wrokko and Agora
• Intensively training and mentoring female top talent
• Mentoring with role models at all levels and every career stage
• Conducting frequent surveys and interviews with women to understand the support they need

Other initiatives are also being actively pursued under the DE&I banner. A specialised Social Impact team is working to remove systemic barriers and promote a culture of inclusivity and solidarity, both within and beyond bol.

All business and policy processes are continuously evaluated. DE&I initiatives at bol include:

• Offering holiday swaps
• Providing leave for gender transition
• Challenging stereotypes with marketing campaigns on themes like gender balance and neurodiversity
• Making the platform more accessible for people with visual impairments
• Removing antisemitic literature from the platform

Vision for the future
Looking ahead, bol’s vision is clear: to provide an environment where all individuals can bring their authentic selves to work. As ‘the shop for us all’ (De winkel van ons allemaal), bol is aware of its impact and responsibility. While significant progress has been made, a gender gap remains in both the corporate world and society at large. Bol aims to be a leading role model in creating an inclusive society with equal opportunities, both within and beyond the walls of their organisation.

“International Women’s Day is a reminder that equality isn’t for a specific moment in the year. Systematic change is needed, and we remain tirelessly committed to that.” — Margaret Versteden-van Duijn.