Standing on the sidelines?
Consequences of the crisis for emancipation and well-being
Original title: Werkloos toezien?
Unemployment in the Netherlands rose sharply during the economic crisis (2008-2013). In this report, we examine the impact this has had on households. Do women and men increase their working hours when their partner loses their job? If they were not already working, does it prompt them to take a job? Increasing women’s working hours has been a key objective of Dutch emancipation policy for almost a decade, based on the argument that it increases women’s economic independence.
Another question in this report is what impact the crisis has had on the subjective health and life satisfaction of the unemployed (and their partners) and whether these effects were different for women and men.
The study was conducted at the request of the Emancipation department of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.