Addressing the Paradox: Motherhood and Labor Market Participation in the Netherlands Gabriela Contreras
Published 2025-05-09
Keywords
- motherhood, politics, labour market, gender, ethics, care.
How to Cite
Abstract
The author compares the discourse on female participation in the labour market with the facts, going beyond the economic criterion, also considering the ethics of care and motherhood and how these factors operate in terms of gender equality in the Dutch context. Apparently emancipatory policies are questioned, in reality they erode women's economic agency based on conventions and social expectations that affect women as almost obligatory norms. It is interesting to find that the choice of part-time work is not an individual decision, but associated with systemic and social pressures that perpetuate traditional gender roles and norms. A reflection that points to the transformation of labour policies towards real options for the comprehensive development of women.
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