Equality? Nuh-uh. Men still earn more than women in the Netherlands

If you thought that the Netherlands, a country known for its open-mindedness, doesn’t face any inequality anymore, we have some bad news for you!

While the gender pay gap is smaller than in many other countries, women still make significantly less than men. 

According to a new study by CBS, women make an average of €2 less per hour in the Netherlands. That’s equivalent to making about 6% less than men at the end of the day. 

The business path slopes towards men

In the private sector, women still earn €5 less per hour or 19% less than men with similar jobs, age, experience and level of education, writes RTL Nieuws.

READ MORE: Woot woot: Dutch women opened even more businesses

But, the business sector has the most visible differences. Since 2008, there has not been much change in the Netherlands for that career field. 

While women have moved up by €1 per hour, the difference in pay with male managers is still almost 20%.

Is there any hope?

Well… we sure hope so! 

While the current situation is far from perfect, there have been some improvements in the past years. For instance, today’s average 6% pay difference was up to 8% in 2018. 

And, to keep your hopes up, in 2008, female managers employed by the government earned €3 less per hour than their male colleagues.

Today, the most recent figures from Statistics Netherlands show that there is no longer any wage difference between male and female managers employed by the government.


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Feature Image:Depositphotos
Mihály Droppa
Mihály Droppa
Mihály fell in love with (and in) Amsterdam, so he quit his NGO job in Budapest and moved to Amsterdam to become a journalist. His apartment is full of plants and books, two dogs, and a random mouse in the kitchen. You might find him in Vondelpark, where he spends most of his life throwing tennis balls for his vizslas and listening to podcasts. His nickname is Mex — ask him why!

1 COMMENT

  1. Comparing “similar” jobs is not the same as “the exact same job”. Using this as your baseline, your entire argument falls apart. Also, previous work experience and hours worked per week/month are other factors that must be taken into consideration. When all these criteria are the exact same, the pay for men and women is the exact same.

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