"Incomprehensible" that we still must fight against pregnancy discrimination: Minister

It is “incomprehensible” that “in 2024 we still have to fight” this hard against pregnancy discrimination, outgoing Minister Karien van Gennip of Social Affairs said on Friday. She responded to an article in AD in which WNL presenters and other employees accuse editor-in-chief Huisjes of creating a toxic work atmosphere, including by not giving women certainty on whether they’ll still have a job after returning from maternity leave.

Van Gennip stressed that pregnancy discrimination is illegal. “Men and women of the Netherlands, this really needs to change,” she told NOS. “Someone has to have the children, and that’s women. We must have room for that, both becoming pregnant, being pregnant, and afterward.”

The Minister added that this problem isn’t isolated to the entertainment world. According to her, over 40 percent of women experience issues that may be pregnancy discrimination. Her Ministry is working on an information campaign on this topic, she said.

Van Gennip pointed out that she herself was the first Cabinet member to go on maternity leave 20 years ago. Minister Liesje Schreinemacher recently had a son, and State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen is going on maternity leave in the summer.

AD reported that director Bert Huisjes of broadcaster WNL has systematically bullied, intimidated, and manipulated employees since he took the job in 2011. He also discriminated against pregnant women, the newspaper wrote after speaking to 25 current and former employees. Among them are well-known presenters, including Eva Jinek, Roos Moggre, Leonie ter Braak, and Merel Westrik.

Presenters who became pregnant reported that they had to stop working for six months and were kept uncertain about whether their contract would be extended after the birth of their child. Some were then not allowed to return to their own positions and had to work on night radio, for example.

Employees also reported unpredictable behavior and a culture of fear. “He could praise you to the heavens and the next moment question your position,” Merel Westrik, who was a presenter at the broadcaster from 2011 to 2014, told the newspaper. Leonie ter Braak, one of the faces of Goedemorgen Nederland from 2012 to 2017, added: “Because Huisjes wore all hats as editor-in-chief and director, you couldn’t go anywhere with your story or concerns.”

Huisjes told AD that he was “sorry” to hear that these employees reported unpleasant experiences. “Some recent matters have been discussed. I would also have liked to discuss other complaints earlier. My door was and still is open for that.”