The research

Economic Resilience of Women in the Netherlands

Women are still working considerably less paid hours than men. At the same time, they take on more unpaid tasks, such as child care, domestic chores, and informal care. This traditional division of tasks contributes to poor economic resilience of women. In the Netherlands, almost 30% of women are not economically independent, compared to 20% of men (in Dutch). Divorce or passing of a partner can bring these women into economic distress. Stimulating their economic resilience is therefore important and can also contribute to women experiencing more freedom, opportunities to choose their own career path and more possibilities to develop themselves (in Dutch). From a social point of view, the labor potential of this group is also very much needed, given that the population is aging and an increasing shortage of labor is expected (in Dutch). Therefore, the Dutch Economic Resilience Coalition (NEVCO) investigates how to increase women’s economic resilience.

A seven-headed monster

It is too simple to label the common traditional division of tasks, in which men work more paid hours and women take on more care tasks as a free choice. Several mechanisms maintain this traditional division of tasks, such as gender inequality in salaries or the stereotype that the mother is the most adequate parent <link 2>.  We see gender inequality as a seven-headed monster; only by understanding the monster as a whole, we can beat it. This stresses the importance of approaching the question of why women work relatively few paid hours from multiple angles, such as with research on their own motivation but also by research on barriers that hinder them. The problem can then be tackled with specifically tailored interventions. This is what we hope to do with the Dutch Economic Resilience Coalition.

‘Fix the system’ approach

The Dutch Economic Resilience Coalition is a collaboration between scientists, employers, health care professionals, and policy makers. Here, we join forces to discover why the traditional task division of caring women and working men is so persistent. Several interventions are tested to investigate how the economic resilience of women can get a boost. Importantly, we propose a ‘fix the system’ approach, rather than a ‘fix the women’ approach.

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  Collective approach to employment

  In Living Lab 1 we zoom in on mothers who receive welfare benefits. With the input of mothers themselves, employers and municipalities, we examine how the road to work for mothers can be facilitated by (1) adapting work to mothers’ care responsibilities, (2) matching supply and demand (for example through offering training), and (3) offering a sustainable income.

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  Resilient together

  In Living Lab 2 pregnant women, their (male) partner, midwives and employers come together to increase fathers’ involvement in caring for their children from the very start. Involved fatherhood helps to increase women’s economic resilience, since women then have more time and energy for affairs besides caretaking.

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  Road to employment

  In Living Lab 3 we focus on women without paid work and who do not receive welfare benefits to explore the diversity in this group of women (their characteristics, their life course), and to explore the underlying reasons why these women do not have an income. Additionally, several interventions will be tested on how to overcome these barriers if boosts can be created.

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  Overarching

  The Overarching project examines what motivation, opportunity and capacities all relevant involved parties (employers, newborn care professionals, fathers and midwives) need to increase the economic resilience of women.