Discover Netherlands : Society (social life)

The Dutch miracle

The Netherlands has a strong and stable economy. Welfare is widespread with a good infrastructure, a good health care system (very different from the French one; be warned) but expensive and high taxes for the average person. The Dutch are hard-working and active, but they value their private life and organize themselves to find the best possible balance. Free time, continuing education, sabbaticals are at the heart of the Dutch life course. Full employment is the order of the day. The big problem is housing, which has an impact on the recruitment of teachers and catering staff in particular... This problem seems unsolvable at the moment and housing and access to property are the main issues at the moment.

Family life

Family life is very important in the Netherlands. Sometimes it even seems that working life revolves around it. In 2020, more than 50,000 marriages and 24,100 registered partnerships were celebrated. The average age of a first marriage is 34.3 years for men and 31.8 years for women. Pregnancy is a unique experience in the Netherlands. It is a natural event and is not medicated if it is not necessary. The arrival of the baby is very ritualized. While home birth is less common, the return home after the birth is quick. Maternity leave is sixteen weeks and the arrival of baby still means a break from work for the mother. Full-time work for women is very rare. Childcare is expensive and social life is centered around children. Professional life must be in harmony with family life. Schools end around 3pm and sports activities take over. The days start early, often at 8am sometimes 7am, the lunch break is short. The children are both very autonomous and very supervised by their families

Women still too few in the labor market

Dutch women started working later than other European women. Industrialization occurred in the Netherlands later than in the Anglo-Saxon countries. However, the main reason is that the Netherlands was neutral during the First World War. This meant that women in the Netherlands did not have to run factories. The Rutte 4 cabinet has a perfect parity of ministers, which shows the evolution of the role of women in public life. The structure of the Dutch family, however, is still very much centred around the presence and flexibility of the mother

The way women are viewed in the Netherlands is in some ways modern and has its roots in the historical Dutch woman, the one who runs the household, the purse and the husband. More than 70% of women work part-time, which allows them to balance their lives as mothers and working women more flexibly. Recently, there seems to be a debate about women's emancipation in the Netherlands. Dutch women, even those who have studied, often choose to stop working altogether when they have their first child. Only 38% of Dutch women are financially independent. Childcare is expensive and the social pressure on mothers is strong. There has been an evolution and recent measures have tried to encourage women's participation in the labour market by helping them financially with childcare. A project to fully cover the cost of childcare to stimulate women's work and fill labor shortages has been announced for 2021. Watch this space! Currently, Dutch women have the lowest working hours in Europe...

"Gezelligheid", or the Dutch way of life...

The Danes have hygge and the Dutch have gezelligheid! "Gezellig" means conviviality in the Dutch way. In general, the Dutch like to take care of their interior and, if they don't entertain easily, they like to share a coffee and a pie. Choice of fabrics, a few candles and a cinnamon-flavored apple pie, the decor is set. Otherwise, the Batave loves group activities, sports, museum visits, coffee on the terrace, groups are numerous and spread (sometimes noisily) their good mood gezellig. You will notice that the houses rarely have curtains and that you will be able to admire scenes of life without any embarrassment.

An LGBT friendly country

It happened on April^1st (2001) and it was not a joke, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to allow marriage between two people of the same sex, with religious ceremony possible! Homosexuality was legally recognized at the beginning of the 20th century and to this day, the Netherlands is still ahead of many nations on this issue. Even if the life of the community has been in decline for years, Amsterdam and the Netherlands are welcoming lands for gays who can live their lives (and their families) without any problems. The community is honored in the calendar on Pink Day, the last Saturday of July, when Canal Pride takes place. Recently, there have been some anti-gay incidents involving minorities, but this does not really tarnish the reputation of the Netherlands as a land of tolerance.

The limits of drug tolerance

The Netherlands is a UFO in the world because of its drug policy, which is mainly based on tolerance. Their vision is pragmatic, some would say mercantile. Symbol of this approach, the coffee-shops very popular with tourists, especially French ones..

This almost idyllic vision of soft drugs has been undermined in recent years by numerous problems related to trafficking. Assassinations take place regularly and, last July, an investigative journalist, Peter R. de Vries, was murdered in the middle of the street in Amsterdam. Justice and the press are regular targets of drug barons

It remains to be seen whether these recent events will change the policy on the subject. Some argue for a total legalization and a state production and sale to eradicate the traffic.

Prostitution

Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. Brothels are tolerated and subject to operating permits. The symbol of this tolerant approach for many, shocking for many others, is the Red Light District of Amsterdam. In the Netherlands, prostitutes are taxed and contribute to pensions. It is said that this allows for a better census, better working conditions and protection. Amsterdam has, for the past 15 years, aimed to limit and regulate the red light district, a setting for abuse and criminality. Many sex workers are indeed exploited by "pimps". Attempts to limit the red light district have not yet been successful. In recent years, the mayor of the capital has intensified her actions. At the time of Me too and women's rights, their prominence, in the middle of a tourist district, no longer seems acceptable. The idea would be to move the district to a less touristy area, so as not to subject these people to the astonished, amused, often mocking and judgmental eyes of visitors.

Education

The educational system in the Netherlands is based on a great sense of responsibility of the students, true little citizens

The elementary school starts on the 4th birthday of the pupil, so everyone enters the school during the year. This primary cycle lasts 8 years, from the age of 4 to 12. The teaching is centralized at the level of tests, but a great freedom is given to the teaching. The neighborhood schools are sometimes Montessori, Dalton or other. Education is free. At the age of 12, depending on the results, the child enters a secondary school. In big cities like Amsterdam, this school, depending on the child's results in the national tests done since the 8th grade, is the result of a lottery and totally random, sometimes creating real human dramas... Some students end up going alone to a school at the other end of the city, siblings are separated, etc

The VWO higher education is the equivalent of the classic high school that leads to university.