News item | 25-02-2022 | 15:45
The government will strongly focus on more women at the top of organizations in the public or semi-public sector. In the (semi) public sector (governments and organizations that perform a public task or are publicly financed) there is currently no proportional male-female representation at the top in many organizations. The cabinet will come up with target figures for ministries, implementing organizations, independent administrative bodies and advisory boards. With this they want to set a good example and they call on the entire (semi) public sector to work towards a 50/50 male-female division.
Last January, the law for more women in top business came into effect. A necessary step to improve the distribution in business. However, the government is also looking at itself and the public sector and is therefore now taking steps to accelerate the equal distribution of men and women in this sector as well.
Targets
A diverse workforce ensures that decisions are taken that are more in line with what is going on in society and what society needs. In the (semi) public sector, the gender distribution is already better than in the private sector. However, the government sees that the government has an exemplary role towards society.
The ambition has been adjusted within ministries and their implementing organizations and each organization will strive to achieve 45 to 55% women in the (sub)top within five years. When new appointments are made, it is examined whether this can contribute to this aim. In addition, the aim is to appoint 50% women when appointing independent administrative bodies and advisory boards.
There will be a legal obligation for the entire (semi) public sector to formulate a target figure for the (sub)top of these organizations. The cabinet calls on the organizations to also work towards 50% women in these positions. The law, still to be developed, maintains a minimum of 33%, which is equal to the quota in the business community.
Evaluation
The legal target is evaluated after three and five years. If this shows that insufficient progress has been made in the (semi) public sector in the field of a proportional male-female distribution, a decision can be made to set a legal quota for the (semi) public sector.
The government wants the public or semi-public sector to set an example for society. She is convinced that the measures will lead to more diverse thinking within the (semi) public sector and thus also to a higher quality of policy.