Gender equality continues to be a topic of discussion in organizations, scientific studies, and the media. The main areas of concern, especially in the Netherlands, are the low participation of women in full-time employment and their low presence in top executive positions, as well as the discrimination against ethnic minority women.
According to The Economist, fewer men in the Netherlands had to fight in the World Wars of the 20th century, and so Dutch women did not experience working for pay at the same frequency as women in other countries did. Moreover, Dutch politics back then was dominated by Christian values that made it slower for Dutch women to enter the workforce. In 2011, the Netherlands, together with Germany and Austria, were identified by the European Commission as countries with a poor integration of women in the workforce. However, as of 2014, the Netherlands had the highest percentage of part-time women workers in the OECD.
The Netherlands started promoting policies based on gender equality from the 1970s onwards. The Equal Treatment (Men and Women) Act or Equal Opportunities Act was introduced in 1980. This act covers both direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination is defined as “discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy, childbirth or motherhood”. Indirect discrimination, on the other hand, is defined as “discrimination on the grounds of characteristics other than sex, such as marital status or family circumstances, resulting in discrimination on the grounds of sex”. Moreover, it states that public service authorities cannot discriminate between men and women in hiring procedures and access to professions. It also posits out that men and women must be afforded the same access and opportunities to professions, as well as the opportunity to develop within the profession. For example, there should be no discrimination between gender in advertisements for, and the procedures of, filling job vacancies.
Furthermore, the difference in salary should not be based on gender, race, nationality, disability or chronic illness, working hours or a temporary contract. What is more, employers cannot discriminate between men and women when deciding to participate in a pension scheme, the content of it or the way in which the pension scheme is implemented. Additionally, provisions regarding the protection of women, especially in regard to pregnancy and maternity leave, are permitted in the implementation of pension schemes.
The Netherlands has an image as a progressive country on gender issues; nevertheless, women in the Netherlands work less in paid employment than women in other comparable Western countries. For example, nearly 60% of Dutch working women aged 25 to 54 worked part-time in 2001, compared to 25% in France and 35% in Germany; but where 25% of French women working part-time say they want to work full-time, just 4% of Dutch women do.
There is currently a great deal of debate in the Netherlands over whether women simply prefer to care for their children themselves and work reduced hours, or if higher costs are holding women back from seeking further employment. The economist Helen Mees identified differences between the Dutch and American culture that partially explain the discrepancy in working hours between women in the two nations. She discusses the American "marketization" of women's former household duties, such as using businesses for laundry, eating out, having groceries delivered, and other services, which are rarely available in the Netherlands. Another possible explanation could be that childcare is the largest expense for two-income families in the Netherlands, and since it is customarily paid by the hour, this may provide an incentive for families to reduce childcare costs by having the mother do less paid employment.
Another point to consider is that the gender pay gap in the Netherlands is higher than the EU average. This was determined by statistics, published by the European Commission’s Eurostat agency showing the unadjusted gender pay gap in the Netherlands in 2012 was 17,3% higher than the EU average of 16,4%. Interestingly, the gender pay gap is lowest among youth. As age increases, so does the pay gap; often as a result of career interruptions for women due to childbirth and women who were unable to benefit from specific equality measures when they started working (in the case of the older age bracket). However, the GPG is a consequence of structural differences in labor markets and can be linked to legal, social and economic factors that go beyond the issue of equal pay for equal work.
The Dutch government implemented an action in favor of closing the gender pay gap by encouraging labor participation and financial independence of women in the workforce. In January 2013, it initiated a rule that boards of directors and supervisory boards of large companies must have a minimum of 30% women and 30% men. Even so, this rule leaves other areas behind in equality such as academia. According to recent reports, over two-thirds of supervisory boards in Dutch universities are made up of men, compared to a student population of which more than half are women.
As for top management, the management consultancy Berenschot found that just 5% of top-level executives at companies are women. This has doubled, compared to 2006, but it is not sufficient since the number of female executives in the biggest listed companies increased from 4 to 9 over the course of 5 years. Additionally, most female executives are foreigners, primarily from Belgium, France, and England. Berenschot stated that it might even be that highly educated Dutch women in the workforce are not particularly interested in becoming executives at top companies.
From a statistical point of view, publishing group Reed Elsevier performs the best since nearly half its management board is female. The Volkskrant singled out tech company Imtech, chip manufacturer ASML, and construction companies Boskalis, BAM, and Heijmans as particularly poor performers, where just 1 in 10 of the highest positions are held by women. Worldwide, there are lots of companies that try their best to contribute to gender equality in the workforce. According to Business Insider, the best companies for women are Apple, Google, Vanguard Group, Microsoft, Bloomberg, JP Morgan Chase & Co and others. They are rated as female-friendly due to higher chances of career advancements, equal treatment and support, and maternity benefits, to name some. If Dutch employers would like to contribute to equal chances for men and women, they might consider following the example of the aforementioned companies by promoting career advancement, by attracting top talent, irrespective of gender, and by reevaluating the remuneration system.
According to Wall Street Insanity, Fortune 500 companies with more female board directors attained “significantly higher financial performance” than those with the lowest female representation. Moreover, women were rated more highly than men at self-development, which induced more respect from the employees and represented them as a role model to whom they could aspire. Also, according to the Harvard Business Review, female leaders were consistently rated higher in the category of building relationships that could be beneficial in cultivating new clients or negotiating difficult contracts. Another survey by Zenger Folkman showed that women have a slight advantage over men when it comes to problem-solving skills. This could be beneficial not only to the business, but also to the employer-employee relationship. The same study also reported that women more often than men were rated as being able to communicate “powerfully and prolifically”. Being able to communicate ideas clearly and memorably could result in less miscommunication and more engagement among employees or clients.
Yet, despite having a great-unutilized productive potential, women are less confident than men in their leadership skills. A study by Sanjana Srivastava showed that females and males are equally as likely to receive an award or to publish a paper, yet females do not feel that they are given credit for their work. Famous media sources such as The New York Times and Forbes had also considered the problem of women’s deflated self-esteem and achievement recognition. This might turn into undesirability of taking up higher positions in women and hence, they will attempt less to take up leadership roles. Also, not demonstrating one’s capabilities might result in a general stereotype that women are poor achievers and thus, influence labor market regulations in hiring women. Overall, this vicious cycle of being unconfident in one’s skills and turning it into a self-fulfilling prophecy can be harmful to the gender equality in employment. A way to reduce it is by raising awareness among high school graduates, regarding the full spectrum of fields of education and employment, and by strengthening women’s self-confidence and self-worth.
Bottom line is that as a society, we need to continue to encourage people to go beyond stereotypes and recognize the contributions that each individual, regardless of gender, can make to the workplace.
Nesrin Nazlieva
Sources:
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/05/economist-explains-12
http://www.uni-kiel.de/psychologie/ispp/doc_upload/Roggeband_migrant_women.pdf
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http://web20.s112.typo3server.com/fileadmin/pdfs/Nationale_Inhalte/Netherlands/Legislation/EqualTr_Gender_NL.pdf
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https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071301/http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/LMF_1_6_Gender_differences_in_employment_outcomes.pdf
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http://tech.mit.edu/V136/N5/women.html