More women earning their own income, but improvement has leveled off
The number of women in the Netherlands earning their own income is rising, but the pace of improvement has stalled recently, data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) shows. In 2024, 6.2 percent of women had no income from work or benefits and were not enrolled in education, down from 10 percent in 2014. Furthermore, the share was 6.4 percent in 2022 and 6.3 percent in 2023, showing almost no improvement over the past three years.
CBS and Utrecht University conducted a study on women aged 15 to 65 who are neither employed nor studying. These women are on average 50 years old, more often married, and more likely to have children than women with their income.
The total number of non-education-attending women without income fell from 481,000 in 2013 to 313,000 in 2024. By comparison, about two percent of men in the same age group are without income, a proportion that has remained stable over the past decade.
Women without income live in less wealthy households and reside in urban areas. CBS divided them into four groups based on background characteristics. The largest group, 49 percent, consists mainly of mothers with adult children. They are on average 58 years old, almost all married, have relatively high household incomes, and are primarily born in the Netherlands.
About 23 percent are mothers of school-aged children, averaging 47 years old. Most live in urban areas, many were born outside Europe, and their household incomes are lower.
Mothers of young children under five make up 15 percent. These women are the youngest, averaging 34 years old, and almost all are cohabiting or married. Half were born outside Europe, and their households have the lowest income among the four groups.
The fourth group, 14 percent, lives alone or cohabits without being married. They are 40 years old on average, often have no children, and live in households with average wealth.
Previous CBS research shows that 17 percent of non-education-attending women aged 15 to 65 are not working and not seeking work, compared with 8 percent of men. Illness is the most cited reason, followed by care for family or household duties. “Care for the family is a reason that men almost never mention,” CBS noted.
