Job recruiters approach women far less often than men according to a report from the Intelligence Group which was commissioned by Financieele Dagblad. According to FD, this “skewed relationship exists in almost all professions including in sectors where women have traditionally been strongly represented, such as healthcare.”
According to the research bureau, 43% of men report being approached at least once a quarter by a job recruiter where only 31% of women reported being approached. Researcher Geert-Jan Waasdorp said to FD, “We don’t know why that is.”
Waasdorp says, “Of the 33 professional groups that we distinguish, eleven have a significant difference in favor of men. There is no field where the opposite happens.” He adds, “it is also clear that the difference does not stem from the fact that women work more often in professions where there is little active recruitment or sourcing.”
HR specialist Bas van de Haterd tells FD that he isn’t surprised by this discrimination because “It is deep in our system that we think men are more skilled. Just look at the headline in De Telegraaf [questioning] if a mother can be a prime minister. Every time we see something like that, there is another line in our brain that confirms that view.”
FD reports that “men in the Netherlands – expressed in average gross hourly wage and not adjusted for age, experience and professional level – earn more than 15% more than women.”
