AFP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
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Charlotte Klein
Economics editor
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Charlotte Klein
Economics editor
Women in the Netherlands work for free the rest of the year. As women earn on average 13% less per hour than men, according to Statistics Netherlands, they work for free for the last 13% of the year (34 working days).
That’s not quite the case, of course, but it’s the makers of Equal Pay Day’s way of bringing attention to the gender pay gap. Equal Pay Day is the day of the year that men earned, on average, women’s annual pay.
The Central Bureau of Statistics has released its biennial survey to the pay gap, which shows that it is just narrowing in the Netherlands.
“Every year we notice that there is a pay gap, followed by discussions about the correctness of the figures and whether it’s not the fault of the women themselves, but no solutions are thought of. And that’s why nothing changes,” says Sophie van Gool, economist and author of the book “Why Women Earn Less”.
Lawsuit against the employer
If we are to fill this gap, everyone must cooperate, says Van Gool, with the politicians leading the way: “The law on equal pay has existed since 1975, but it is not enforced. The burden of proof now lies with the worker, but it must go from the employer. See how it expired at the Wehkamp.”
It refers to an employee who took Wehkamp to court. For the exact same job, a younger male colleague with less experience earned an extra 1,000 euros a month. There was no action when he raised the issue and his contract was not renewed. Shortly before the court decided on the appeal, Wehkamp paid her €130,000 in damages. “This battle cost her three years and a breakdown. Most women can’t afford that.”
Unique proposal
Social Affairs Minister Van Gennip said in a letter to Parliament that he does not want to accept wage differences. He writes that he has already taken steps, for example, by extending the leave of the partner. No new concrete proposals are foreseen yet, but he will discuss the employment position of women with social organisations.
Van Gennip also says he supports a European bill. MEP Samira Rafaela (D66) is leading the negotiations on this: ‘This is a unique proposal, because we want to introduce an information obligation that gives employees the right to see salaries. We are also looking into how we can include people non-binary.” She hopes the law will go into effect in 2024.
Salary secret
Employers bear the responsibility too, Van Gool says. , you know what you earn and there are salary scales”.
The adjusted wage gap (figure 1) compares hourly wages between men and women with comparable backgrounds in terms of age, experience and education level.
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NOS/Harm Kersten
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NOS/Harm Kersten
So employers can be more transparent. In fact, searching by job posting website shows that only half of the job postings on that site contain salary information.
Companies that are transparent about payroll are not easy to find. An exception is De Volksbank. The bank puts salary into vacancies and conducts an annual survey of pay gaps. After this policy change, the wage gap rose to 0.04%. “This is really the result of the policy, it’s not something that happens by itself,” says a spokesperson.
Van Gool applauds him. “I think this is more difficult for old companies, because this inequality has been building up for 50 years. If women who have been employed for a long time come up with their own calculations, they have a problem.”
Another thing that helps, according to Van Gool: negotiate differently. “Companies usually ask for the previous salary and do something extra. But if women are already underpaid from the beginning of their career, it will continue to work. Forget it.”
No favors
Employees can also lobby collectively, says Van Gool. “It’s not like you’re asking for a favor, you’re right. Male colleagues can participate and be transparent about their salary.”
According to the economist, the pay gap translates into a vicious circle: since women earn less at the beginning of their career, it is seen as a logical choice if women start working less when children are born. Women work more part-time, but also do more unpaid work (see pictures). “And we don’t recognize unpaid work as such in the Netherlands. Closing the pay gap is not easy, we can only change it if we really want to.”
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Harming Kersten
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Harming Kersten
