Wage gap nearly halved in 15 years; Men still earning 10.9% more than women

The difference in the average hourly wage between men and women has become smaller and smaller since 2010, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). While women earned 19 percent less per hour than men in 2010, this difference was still 10.5 percent last year. According to the statistics agency, the wage gap in the Netherlands is shrinking partly due to women's increasingly higher education level.

CNV chairman Piet Fortuin called the wage gap scandalous. “Women are increasingly better educated, increasingly hold higher management and board positions, and also work more and more hours. In that light, a difference of more than 10 percent is still very high.” The trade union wants to require employers to be more open about wages within the company.

Women earned an average of 27.15 euros per hour last year. That is 52 percent more than in 2010. The average hourly wage of men increased by 38 percent to 30.32 euros. Due to the difference in increases, the wage gap between men and women has decreased.

CBS also noted that women have been closing the gap more quickly in recent years. The difference became 0.7 percent smaller in 2023, compared to a drop of 1.5 percent last year. This may be due to the increase in minimum wages, CBS said. Because women are overrepresented in the lower salary scales, they benefited more from that than men, the statistics agency said.

At 15 percent of large companies that employ at least 100 men and 100 women, women’s average hourly wage was higher than men’s last year. In 2010, this was still 6 percent. In public administration, women earned more than men at a third of companies.

Nevertheless, the gross annual wage of female employees is still almost a third lower than men. CBS attributed two-thirds of this difference to the fact that women work fewer hours than men. 63 percent of men have full-time jobs, and 23 percent of women.