Towards an equal division of paid and unpaid work: the case of the Netherlands

Abstract

Both the Netherlands and other European countries are involved in the transition from a breadwinner society towards a more individual-oriented society. What is unique in the Dutch case is the strong emphasis on the equal sharing of time, between paid and unpaid work as well as between women and men. Despite the preferences among citizens for a more equal sharing of paid and unpaid work, in practice it appears that general participation in paid labour is being achieved more rapidly than general participation in unpaid labour. The article looks at the obstacles and sticking points which stand in the way of the process of redistribution and investigates how this process can be accelerated. It includes an empirical analysis on survey data for the Netherlands with respect to both actual and preferred working hours for married and co-habitating men and women. The authors conclude that a consistent government policy is lacking. As a consequence neither individuals nor organizations get signals that might contribute to those steps in the area of part-time work, child-care provision and leave facilities that would bring about a redistribution of paid and unpaid work between women and men.