Combining work and care in the polder model: an assessment of the Dutch part-time strategy

Abstract

Working time is an important ingredient in the Dutch `polder model'. In particular, part-time employment has proven to be an important element on the road towards full employment. Part-time employment is also an important element in the so-called `combination model', a model that has been adopted by the Dutch government as the main guideline for policies in the field of labour and care. The point of departure of the combination model is a balanced combination of paid and unpaid care, where unpaid care work is shared equally between men and women and both work part-time for pay. The article looks at the consequences of this part-time strategy from an equal opportunities perspective. It concludes that for women the popularity of part-time work has resulted in a destandardization and individualization of working hours. The combined effects of both gender and the specific working time policy has been to create a one-and-a-half earner society. Given the half income of women, the polder model has not as yet resulted in a remedy for the socioeconomic inequality between men and women.