ABSTRACT
Men and women combining work and childcare seems to be an appealing ideal to many parents. The majority of the Dutch people support the idea that men and women both have the right to work and that fathers should be involved in childcare. The number of families with two working parents is on the increase, but remains low compared to other EU countries. In 1990, 36 per cent of Dutch mothers with children under 4 were in paid employment (Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau voor de Statistick 1993) and in 1996, 65 per cent of Dutch parents with young children were dual-earner families (Centraal Bureau 1996). Despite these changes, Dutch women still seem to be stuck in the vicious circle of work and family. As a consequence of being more responsible for the caring work at home, the vast majority of Dutch mothers work part time. Their jobs are often low-paid, dead-end jobs, which, in fact, tends to encourage the traditional division of responsibilities of work and care between the sexes.
