One in three Dutch men think women should work less after having a baby (excuse us?) 

A study showed that one-third of men and one in five women in the Netherlands believe that women should work less when they have young children, reports Eenvandaag

This opinion is especially unanimous for people over 75 and even youngsters between the ages of 18 and 25 — surprisingly. 

And why do they think this? Well, they believe it’s because women just have that special connection with a child that men apparently can’t have, so obviously, women should work less! 🤔

How much do people agree with this?

No need to worry if you’re a man though, the statistics showed that less than 1% think that men should be the ones who work less as opposed to women.

One participant of the study begs to differ. They shared that BOTH a man and woman should not have to work less — and why should they? There are childcare services for a reason! However, only 9% of people in the study agree with this opinion. 

Alternatively, 45% of men and 58% of women believe that both partners should work less if they have children.

Who does care and responsibility for the child fall under? 

In spite of thinking that women should be the ones to stay at home, 86% of respondents believe that men and women bear equal responsibility for the care and upbringing of children. 

And this isn’t the least bit surprising. We’re not living in the 18th century anymore where women have to take care of the children and men have to be the breadwinner of the household. 

However, many participants still feel that the choice of who will work less isn’t made lightly. 

They went on to share that it’s almost impossible to divide the tasks of caring for the children fairly and that ultimately it’s the mother who ends up taking care of the child most of the time.

“If women have months of leave and a man a few weeks at a lower salary, then as a mother you automatically receive a lot of care tasks. That will remain the case later on. Something should change about that”, says one participant.

Inderdaad! Do you agree or disagree that women should work less when they have children? Tell us in the comments below! 👇

Feature Image:depositphotos
Gaelle Salem
Gaelle Salem
Born and raised on the island of Sint Maarten, Gaelle moved to the Netherlands in 2018 to attend university. Still trying to survive the erratic Dutch wind and rain, she has taken up the hobby of buying a new umbrella every month. You can probably find her in the centre of The Hague appreciating the Dutch architecture with a coffee in one hand and a slice of appeltaart in the other.

1 COMMENT

  1. Yea,I agree.women should have longer maternity leave and opportunity to stay home with kids till they are 2-3y old.it is important for kids.mother, those years, is the most important person for them, father’s role is coming later. I don’t understand why I should leave kid in daycare few months after he/she is born. why we have kids when if we cant take care of them??? So current society sees women just as a factory for kids? Pop up and go back to work??? I think these opinions of leaving kids in daycares so early are indeed coming from people who didn’t get enough mothers love and were left with stranger people in daycares or nanny

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