Half of Dutch population - as many men as women - active in volunteer work

Statistics Netherlands announced today that half of the population aged 15 years and older have done volunteer work for a club or organisation at least once in 2012/2013. Most volunteer workers are active for sports clubs, schools, ideological organisations and in care and nursing.
Trade unions and organisations engaged in housing and housing subsidies, political parties and social help have the lowest proportion of volunteer workers.
On average, volunteer workers are active for 4 hours a week, but most of them spend less than one hour a week on volunteer work.

Women often active in schools, men in sports clubs

Different groups in the population are engaged in different types of volunteer work. In general, volunteers are middle-aged, higher educated and have a religious and native Dutch background. With 51 andd 49 percent respectively, men are slightly more often active as volunteers than women. On average, men spend more than 4 hours a week on volunteer work, women a bit less; men actually spend twice as many hours on paid work (more than 32 hours) as women, while women spend twice as many hours on providing care (25 hours).

Male and female volunteer workers are engaged in different types of organisations. Women, for example, are active in schools and care provision twice as often as men. Men, on the other hand, are more often active in sports clubs, youth work and hobby and social clubs, trade unions, political parties and community centre work. Men also more often serve in administrative capacities than women.