Women's economic resilience
Today, nearly 30% of women in the Netherlands are still not economically independent. How can women's economic resilience be improved? Various interventions are being tested for this purpose, whereby we propose a “fix the system” approach rather than a “fix the women” approach.
The research consists of three living labs:
(1) Working is not something you do alone, aimed at women without paid employment but receiving benefits;
(2) Resilient together, aimed at new fathers and mothers;
(3) On the way to work, aimed at women without paid employment and without benefits. Finally, in the overarching project, we look at what all relevant parties (employers, women, men, professionals, local authorities, etc.) need to increase women's economic resilience, based on the three living labs.
Our Economic Resilience for Women research programme shows that targeted adjustments, both in policy and in organisational culture, can substantially improve the retention and influx of women. Think of care-friendly policies (such as parental leave, flexible working hours and home working options) and the creation of an organisational culture in which employees can actually make use of these policies. In addition, as an employer, you can become more attractive by using more inclusive job advertisements, tailored to the needs of these women. It also requires attention to the specific situation of, for example, single mothers who are making the transition from social assistance to work.