Amsterdam wants women in 50 pct of city's top functions

Amsterdam alderman Pieter Litjens (personnel and organization) wants half of the top functions in the city to be filled by women. Amsterdam is on the right track and getting close, but not there yet, he said, according to Het Parool.

In the Dutch capital 43.6 percent of people in top functions are women, according to Litjens. The Amsterdam municipality is doinig even better, with 51 percent men and 49 percent women. That puts Amsterdam well above the national average of 33 percent women in government and the public sector.

"This is a very nice result, which we as municipality can be proud of", Litjens said, according to the newspaper. "But as far as I'm concerned, we're not there yet. In Amsterdam I hope that we can continue in the coming period to the line of 50 percent women in the Amsterdam top."

The Amsterdam municipality wants to be a relfection of the workforce in the city. In addition to women, the municipality is also paying attention to more work for people with a labor disability, a non-western background and young people below the age of 35 years.