April the 12the the Dutch group of participants had a meeting to discuss the different topics. On this weblog we present the results of the discussion on gender equality.
First we had a discussion what the topic was actually about: is it gender equality in general or are we talking about gender equality in decision making and in this last case, what do we understand with decision making? We decided to limit the discussion to the topic of gender equality in decision making. We used decision making as the process in politics or business where the strategic decisions are being made and which is done by the higher management in businesses and by the political top of the government.
First we made an overview of the different terms we where thinking of concerning this theme. After that we described how the Dutch situation is concerning these terms. After that we discussed what we think the EU should do concerning this topic. The results of this inventory is listed below.
§ Procedures of decision making
o The procedures of decision making are mostly male oriented. It is a game where competition is an important ingredient. Competition is not always the way in which women like to work, but if they want to play the game, if they want to fit in, they will have to use the more male oriented rules. In this way the more female approach doesn’t have the opportunity to bloom and will there always be female with high potential that do not feel at ease in the male culture.
o Two EU countries have more women in local government than the Netherlands
: Denmark
and Sweden
. In the Netherlands
about 30% of the people in local government is female, like it is in seven other EU countries. In Denmark
and Sweden
this number is more than 40%. So, compared to other EU countries are we an average country concerning this topic.
§ Regulations
o In the Netherlands Male and Female have the same rights by law
o There are regulations for maternity/paternity and parental leave.
o The Dutch department of foreign affairs has and active role in world wide negotiations concerning equal rights for women like the Beijing
regulations, in projects for sharing experiences of best practices etc.
o Employers in the public sector are encouraged to hire employees in a way that the company reflect the society….there should be working a certain amount of women, immigrants, handicapped etc.
§ Religion
o There is a Dutch Political party that does not accept female members (SGP) because of religious reasons. They just adjusted their rules what makes that women can become a special member, but still they do not have the right/opportunity to take part in decision making processes or to get elected.
o Religion influences the discussion about gender equality. Especially the Islamic religion takes part in this discussion.
§ Education
o There is equal education for boys and girls for men and women.
o Some studies are visited more by male than by female students and vice versa. This makes that in some sectors are populated by mostly men (technical sector) and other sectors are more female oriented (health care, education)
o The Dutch government tries to influence this by campaigns that stimulate for example girls to chose a technical study and for boys to become a teacher.
§ Glass ceiling
o This expression is being used to express the process in which women have the same rights as men and have the same opportunities, but in practice women reach the top of their possibilities and opportunities earlier than men do. So they see what can be reached, but it is not possible to reach this in practice.
§ Loby-ing
o There are some well known Dutch politicians and political parties that try to influence or feed the discussion about gender equality for example Ayaan Hirshi Ali, Groen Links (political party). At this moment there is an election going on in the VVD (political party) for the function of leader of the party. This election is between a man and a woman (the minister of immigration) and this would be the first time that a woman becomes the leader of the party.
§ Prejudice
o “Women are not tough enough for the men’s world”
o “Men cannot do the same jobs/tasks as women in for example education or child care”
§ Child care
o There are regulations that government pays 1/3 of the costs of child care, 1/6 is paid by the employer(s) of the parents and 1/3 by the parents themselves. This is to stimulate both parents to work.
o Research showed that the quality of childcare, concerning the pedagogical skills of the people who work in child care, does not have a very high level.
o Most Dutch mothers think they are the best child raisers themselves en they don’t want to send their child to a “stranger”. This makes that many high educated women stop working or go working in part-time when they get a child. For this reason there are people who think that government shouldn’t decrease the costs of child care, but should pay more attention to the quality, especially the pedagogic skills of the child care workers.
§ Part-time work
o In the Netherlands
there are many possibilities to work part-time, both for men and women. This is not the case in all sectors, but the Netherlands
has one of the highest rates of part-time workers in Europe
. Especially for women with children this is seen as an advantage.
Proposals for the EU commission concerning gender equality
- Decision making procedures should be changed in a way that there is room for female inluences/styles/characteristics as well.
- The participation of women and taking their needs into account with the aim of achieving equality should be at the centre of the agenda of each democratic nation.
- Equality is not about equal numbers of men and women, but about equal chances for men and women
- The EU should promote cultural exchange programs to get a better understanding of the situation in other countries concerning gender equality.
- Make use of knowledge and other international campaigns about gender equality and use the good practices.
- There should be paid attention attention to create circumstances that make working at high levels possible like: part-time jobs, good child care, maternity/paternity and parental leave etc.
