Gender, family, and policy in the Netherlands: reconciling work and care for children in the 21st century

Abstract

Despite its relatively progressive image, family policies and family roles contain strong gender dimensions in the Netherlands, particularly in relation to the care for children. These gender dimensions are reflected in who performs paid work and who provides care as well as policies supporting the reconciliation of these two domains. Understanding these gendered work-care relations and policies requires an understanding of their strong historical legacies as well as contemporary developments and challenges. This chapter takes an in-depth look at the continuities and discontinuities in family policies aimed at reconciling work and care for children in the Netherlands since 2000 in relation to gendered patterns of work and care. The focus is on the gender assumptions underlying these policies and understanding these assumptions from a cultural and historical perspective. The chapter concludes by considering the impact of the contemporary COVID-19 pandemic on these policies and practices.