The number of women in employment increased again last year. The number of women who are economically independent also increased and they worked more hours. That appears from the Emancipation Monitor published on Tuesday of Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
The latest CBS figures cover the year 2021, the Emancipation Monitor is published every two years. In 2021, 77.1 percent of all women between the ages of 15 and 65 who were not studying were in paid employment. That was 86.8 percent for men. Since 2014, the labor participation of women has grown faster than that of men every year. As a result, the difference in participation decreased. However, growth among women in corona years 2020 and 2021 leveled off somewhat. The average working hours for women was 29.2 hours in 2021, compared to just under 27 hours in 2013. In 2021, men worked an average of 39.4 hours per week.
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Both men and women continue to work part-time with these ‘European champions’ figures. Nearly seven in ten women worked part-time in 2021, compared to two in ten men.
More economically independent
In 2021, two out of three women earned more than the social assistance level (1,080 euros net per month), making them economically independent. This is lower than the number of women who say it is important to be economically independent: 75 percent. The number of economically independent women has increased every year since 2014. In 2021, 81 percent of men earned more than the social assistance level. The pay gap is larger in the Netherlands than in most other EU countries. Especially highly educated and Dutch-born men and women were economically independent. Of the more than 1.6 million women who were economically non-independent in 2021, 32 percent had paid work.
Also read about the previous Emancipation Monitor from 2020: Dutch business community now more ‘feminine’: most men not enthusiastic
The number of men and women who say they find paid work important does not differ. However, both groups indicate different reasons why they would like to have paid work. Men say more often than women that they want to work shorter hours than they do now: 19.1 compared to 13.7 percent. According to Statistics Netherlands, this is mainly due to the fact that more men have full-time jobs. Of the women who work part-time, 65 percent would like to work more hours under the right conditions. They would do this if the income is no longer sufficient, but sometimes also if there is a better work-life balance, work can be done at home and cheaper childcare is available.