Twice as many women as men are outside the labour force

© CBS
Eight percent of men aged 15 to 64 not in education were neither in paid employment, nor seeking work, and not immediately available for work in 2023. Among women, the share was twice as high at 17 percent. For women, the ability to combine their working week with their personal life is an important precondition for entering the workforce. This is one of the conclusions of the latest Emancipation Monitor released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) today.

Since the first edition was published in 2000, the Emancipation Monitor has focused on differences and similarities between men and women in areas such as employment, education, health, income, and victimisation and safety. It also compares women’s emancipation in the Netherlands with that of other member states in the European Union. A new element is the survey of women and men who are not in paid employment.

1 in 6 women not part of labour force

Seventeen percent (728 thousand) of women aged 15 to 64 not in education were not part of the labour force (i.e. neither in paid employment, nor seeking work and not immediately available for work). Among men, this was 8 percent (367 thousand). Among partners in two-parent families, the share of those not in paid employment was smaller, but the difference between men and women was the largest. Women who have children and a partner were nearly four times more likely not to be in paid employment than men who have children and a partner. The same is true of single mothers and women who have a partner but no children. Single women and men were more likely not to be in employment, and the difference between men and women in this group was relatively small.



Both women and men aged 55 to 64 were more likely not to work, as well as those who had completed primary education or prevocational secondary education (VMBO). Men and women who were born in another country were also more likely not to work.

Women who care for other family members say this is why they do not work

The majority of women not in paid employment, and men who were neither seeking work nor available for it, gave illness or incapacity for work as the reason for this. That was the case for 75 percent of men and 55 percent of women in 2023. In every type of household, men gave this as the main reason for working less, as did single women (both with and without children).

Among women with a partner and children living at home, caring for their family or household was the most frequently mentioned reason for not working (52 percent). This share was much lower among men with a partner (8 percent). Among women with a partner but no children (at home), retirement or old age was a factor, in addition to illness and care responsibilities.

Right number of working hours most frequently mentioned condition for working among woman

A third of all women not in paid employment would like to have paid work, but under certain conditions. The conditions most frequently mentioned by women for (re-) entering the labour force were finding a job with the right number of working hours (17 percent), being able to combine their working hours with their personal life (15 percent), and working closer to home (13 percent).

Working part-time due to household and leisure activities

Nearly 8 in 10 women aged 15 to 64 not in education were in paid employment in 2023. Most of them (65 percent) had a part-time job and worked fewer than 35 hours per week. Among men, only 18 percent worked part-time. Among both women and men, the most frequently given reasons for working part-time were needing time to do housework, grocery shopping and other tasks, hobbies, sports, having leisure time and a social life. Almost all fathers and mothers working part-time also gave caring for their children as a reason.

Preference for working less to make time for leisure activities

Both men and women gave having more free time as the most frequently mentioned reason for wanting to work fewer hours, even if that would mean earning less money. Other reasons mentioned were having more time to do housework, grocery shopping and other tasks, reducing work stress and spending more time with their children. Eight in 10 mothers and fathers in paid employment with a child under 12 years old gave caring for their child as a reason for wanting to work less.

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