The development of the labour market position of female actors in the Netherlands between 1987-2009

Despite the struggle women have had during the two feminists waves in the Netherlands and everything that is accomplished, their exists still no equal treatment of men and women. The Dutch government is doing a lot to make sure women receive the same opportunities as men. They set goals wherefore women receive equal treatment as men. The labour market is one of the areas in which women face problems men rarely come across. These problems mainly relate to their salary and the fulfilment of high-level functions. The unequal treatment women receive on the labour market influences the economy, but also the image women have of themselves and the society of them. The labour market position of women is in need of improvement and therefore the development of the emancipation process needs to be monitored. This thesis is an investigation of the development of the labour market position of female actors in the Netherlands, by means of a secondary data analysis. To research the development of their labour market position longitudinal research is being performed. Four different studies are compared on different variables: income, career prospects, part-time employment, career duration, experience and education. In the data analysis these variables are researched during the period 1987-2009. The conclusion presents the results and states to which extent the labour market position of female actors has shown improvements and has become more equal.