The Netherlands is a small country situated in the middle of northwestern Europe bordering the North Sea between Belgium and Germany. The country is comprised of 41,000 square kilometers, including all waterways, lakes and inland seas. The country’s highest point is 320 meters about sea level and is protected be an advanced system of dams and dikes. In the 16^th century, the present-day Netherlands’ boundaries were roughly drawn. During the Spanish Inquisition, starting in 1568, the northern provinces revolted, led by Prince William of Orange. Most inhabitants of those northern provinces converted to Protestantism at that time. After 80 years of Spanish ruling, Holland and its allied provinces expelled the Spaniards. Since then, The Netherlands became synonymous with the independent country that emerged in this corner of Europe. The nation speaks Dutch, which is a West Germanic language. There are over 25 million people worldwide who speak the language while about 16 million of them live in the country itself. The 16 million make the Netherlands, statistically, the most densely populated country in Europe, there is much more open green space outside of the major cities.

The European part of the kingdom of Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces. The king appoints a commissioner for each province. The commissioner serves in the greatest capacity in this regional government. The commissioner is also the chairperson of the province administration. Each province is divided into municipalities. The king also selects the mayor of each municipality. Voters directly elect their district councils. The Netherlands is a parliamentary monarchy. Although there is true constitution, Holland is a democratic and social state under the rule of law that gives full power to the national government.

The government exists of the king and ministers. The council of ministers actually determines the policy of the government. The constitution says nothing about how to create the government. Normally, the king gives the order to a politician from the biggest party to create the government. The king appoints and releases the ministers. Both chambers of the parliament can release a minister with singe majority. The seat of the Dutch government is The Hague. The queen, parliament, and all related agencies are located in this region.

Head of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is Queen Beatrix. The most important governing body is the Council of Ministers. This council is composed of ministers appointed by the queen and chaired by the Prime Minister, another position appointed by the queen. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition.

The parliament exists of two chambers, which are both elected for four years. The 150 members of the second (lower) chamber are elected by the party-list system with proportional representation. Seats are distributed at the national level among different lists or groups of lists that have obtained at least 0.67% of the nation-wide vote. Each party is awarded a certain number of seats equal to the proportion of the national vote their party received. Within the list, seats are then allocated among candidates according to the order in which they appear on the list. The seats remaining unfilled after the first distribution are then allotted according to the d’Hondt method of highest average. Voters have to be 18 years old and Dutch citizens. Reasons for disqualification include insanity, imprisonment, and disfranchisement as result of certain criminal convictions, deprivation of parental authority or guardianship over children. The provinces select the members of the first chamber. Members of the parliament may not serve in both the upper and lower house simultaneously. Laws mush have both chambers approval before the king can them.

So far, we have briefly reviewed the Netherlands as a country and the governmental bodies that run this country. In the following pages, we will explore the power that women have in politics, government, and other forms of decision-making. The first section will focus on the current power and position of women in the Netherlands. The second with describe the women’s movements that have started recently in Holland. Thanks to the Internet, we have ample and current narrative information. Unfortunately, there are several gaps dealing with statistics of both elections and political parties. Overall, we have found the Netherlands’ government to be gender friendly, with several equality minded parties and woman serving in political leadership positions. However, gaining more female law-makes and social programs are not a priority in this land.

While statistics about women’s participation in elections and parties are difficult to find, it is still very evident that women actively participate in almost every area of politics in The Netherlands. Overall, the election turn out rate in the Netherlands is usually over 70 percent every election. The last election drew just over 73% of Dutch voters. This number has fallen since the Dutch Government lifted its obligatory voting rules. Generally, we assume that most women work generally in left parties and work in areas such as education and healthcare. Again, since the statistical information is missing, we cannot tell you the exact percentages of women versus men in each party, but rather take an general overview of the two main parties; the Labor Party (PvdA) and the Liberal Party (VVD).

These two parties collectively received almost 53 percent of the total vote in the last Dutch election. The Labor party gained ground in 1998 to reach the top of the political party heap. A very popular politician Mr. Wim Kok leads it. The Labor party is a central left party that has found political gains in it’s "Dutch Model" platform that believes in "job creation combined with wage freezes and trimming of the welfare state" (www.ipu.org). However, according to the party’s website, they have a large female support base as indicated in their last Parliament list even though technically this could be from a loosely regulated governmental quota. It was gender divided close to 50 percent. The other major party is the center-right Liberal party. This party furthermore supports initiatives to limit the welfare state and other more conservative ideas. Further, down the popularity list, we find the Democrats 66 (D66). Ms. Els Borst heads this left party.

There is still a party in The Netherlands that does not allow women to join their party. The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) "explicitly excludes women from its membership" (www.e-quility.nl). Furthermore, the government will not force the party to end this discrimination and comply with the General Equal Treatment Act.

Even though women are making themselves known in the political arena, they are far from dominating. However, several reforms and calls for gender equality have spread across The Netherlands. One of the most expansive and impressive is called the "Dutch Emancipation Policy." It covers nearly all areas of human life and the rights of women in the respective areas. We will focus however on the under-representation of women in politics and government. Surprisingly, the statistics this group has found shows very little improvement of the mobilization of women in politics.

In the early days of the twentieth century, the debate of suffrage divided the Socialists and the Liberals. The socialists put emphasis on suffrage for the lower classes and thought that once the men had suffrage, the women would follow. The suffragists, being mostly upper class women, opposed this idea fiercely. Eventually the question was solved in a very Dutch manner. The right to vote for all, women and men, was granted in 1919. This however was just the beginning of the integration of women in politics. Their biggest challenge was still in the ahead; changing the mentality of the population, that woman had an important role in the political system and how to truly insure democracy.

There is no legal framework for the promotion of women in political decision-making in the Netherlands. The Dutch government did not take an official position in this matter before they had to due to the ratification of the European regulation on discrimination against women. The Dutch government says it cannot and may not force or even ask the political parties to increase their number of women in politics, but that consists of recommendation to the political parties to increase women’s representation. The only legal framework on women in politics is the first Article of the Constitution that prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender.

The second wave of the women’s movement in the Netherlands came at the end of the 1960’s. This movement looked at the relation specifically between women and politics. The under representation of women in politics in representative bodies, in government, in government bureaucracy and in advisory bodies as well as broadening the ideas about what is considered political were debated. How can we describe the evolution from 1970’s to today? Can we observe some changes? Did the women in the Netherlands find a place in political decision-making? These questions must be examined. We will focus on women in the national government and describe women "inside" the government.

The Parliament of the Netherlands (called Staten-General) is bicameral. The lower chamber has 150 members, elected by party list vote from 18 multi-seat districts. The upper chamber has 75 members indirectly elected by party list vote of 12 provincial councils. The Netherlands and Israel are the only two counties in the world with a pure proportional representation system for the lower house.

Today, women hold a total of 36 percent of positions in the lower house and 28 percent in the upper house. We will focus on the lower house since it the most representative of the public since it is directly elected. In total, 33 percent of parliamentarians are women. Overall, in Europe, the Netherlands ranks fifth in the percentage of women in parliament and in the top half for total number of women in government in the country. This number also could be deflated because it did not include the women included in the local parliaments. Furthermore, the president of the lower house is Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven, a woman. Of the other European Union countries, only eight states had or have a woman in this role or the closest local equivalent.

The first woman in Parliament was in 1946. Since 1970, there has been a little evolution due to changes in both the governmental policies of the Netherlands and of the European Union. In 1987, women in The Netherlands only occupied 20 percent of seats in the lower house. In 1995, this number jumped to 31 percent and then again jumped in 1999 to 36 percent. The number of women in political decision-making is rising with every election. However, in the lower house, it seems that the percentage of female representatives has risen to a saturation point of about 35 percent.

The representation of women in the government of Holland is inferior to the rate of the Parliaments. In fact, women hold 31 percent of government offices. Currently, the government in composed of 29 members and nine of them are women. This percentage is superior to the European average of 15 percent, but it has fluctuated with no apparent pattern since the early nineties. The current Dutch government consists of the Minister President (prime minister) and 14 ministers. Fourteen state secretaries assist the ministers in their work.

There are four woman ministers and 10 women state secretaries. Currently women run the ministries of Health, Welfare, and Sport; Economic Affairs; Transportation, Public Works, and Water Management; and Development Cooperation. Perhaps the most impressive of this list is Mrs. Annemarie Jorritsma as she was the Minister of Economic Affairs, a key ministry held mostly by men around the world. Usually, women possess only "soft" ministries such as health and/or education. In this since "soft" refers to traditional women’s roles. This step however is important and could be the beginning of a democratization of the law making power for women.

Furthermore, a woman occupies the most important role in Dutch politics. It is a constitutional monarchy and has been since 1890. Today, Queen Beatrix van Oranje Nassau has served since 1980. Her Heir Apparent is Prince Willem-Alexander. She has the very important duty of appointing the Prime Minister and the members of his/her cabinet.

To conclude, we can say that during the course of the eighties, most sex differences in participation have diminished to an insignificant level, only appear in the house activities involving the use of conventional political channels, such as lobbying or contacting representatives. Looking at several social variables, we find that among women the most involved were higher educated, non-religious, ages 36-45 and 64-65, with no children or 5-6 children. Migrant woman are involved merely at the local level. Full participation of women in politics is a necessary condition for democratic decision-making and policy. Women are more likely to support the left wing views on social questions, from environmental issues to defense. On the parliament level, women are more likely to come from the upper class but generally have no education difference between them and their male counterparts.

The government on the highest level, the minister of internal affairs have chosen to install an interdepartmental project group which was named "Women in Politics and Public Policy". Several government departments have participated in the project group, such as the departments of public polity, constitutional matters and legislation, co-ordination of minority policy, labor market policy, communication, documentation and library. The fact that the paper has been assigned by the minister of internal affairs indicates the government’s seriousness to increase the political participation of women. The yearly reports since 1994 consists of a summary of the government activities per project area and quantitative data on women’s participation in each project area. Through the reports, the government guarantees regular policy monitoring. It is essential for successful policy because problems can be detected in early states and resolved.

Results of this project were for example changing the attitude towards women in political decision-making. Through discussion with and stimulation of important actors such as political parties, district water boards and all kinds of committees and organizations, the ministry of internal affairs has emphasized proportional representation of women and men in political decision-making. The project makes it possible to increase the number of woman mayors from 54 to 80. In addition, measurements were taken for more women on district water boards, such as a plan of action and a permanent committee "Women on District Water Boards". On the other hand the Dutch parliament adopted and amendment to the constitution to create the possibility of changing the election legislation enabling arrangements for women in representative bodies to be temporarily replaced in the case of pregnancy, however the fist chamber did not adopt the amendment.

Women’s situation in politics has been a concern for most of the Dutch political parties since the late eighties. Parties such as the Christian Democrats (CDA), Social Democrats (PvdA), Liberals (VVD), and the Green Left (Groen Links) have taken measures such as focused recruitment, political education and study-courses and target figures to realize an increase of their woman representatives. The Dutch political system is well known for the fact, that the parties compose themselves their lists. The project showed that government’s stimulation has more effect on the national party level that on the regional and local party level. In addition, local parties are rather autonomous when composing their candidate lists since there are no government repercussions for not meeting quota. This could help explain why between 1992 and 1996 the increase of women’s participation in municipality councils has been so marginal. In addition, most female representatives generally go to the national level or to other European organizations. Important in the project "Women in Politics and Public Policy" was the conversation between government and the political parties. It was one of the first steps in showing that the government is concerned about the situation. The results showed that the government had much more effect on the national level than on the local and regional level. This suggests that the government’s approach was still too centralized and much more must be done. The government sets quotas for the number of women in politics, but there are no penalties for the political parties when the quotas are not met, Mainly, because the government is of the opinion that it cannot interfere in party politics.

The NGOS in the Netherlands that campaign for more women in politics consist of the more conservative women’s groups, all coordinated by the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Vrouwenbelanfgen (the Dutch Society for Women’s Interests). This society has been active for more than a century and it organizes campaigns like M/V 50/50, which strives for equal participation and preferential votes for women candidates.

Technically, the situation in the Netherlands has changed since the 70’s and the 80’s. First step of the government was the project during the years 1992-1996. The results showed that the government had much more effect on the national level than on the local and regional level. In addition, the cooperation between the political parties and the government has shown some positive changes. Political parties have created projects with the goal to raise the number of female candidates. Because there is no law to force the political parties to raise the number of women in politics, it is mainly in their own hands what they do with that situation. The government sets quotas fort the number of women in politics, but there are no penalties for the political parties when the quotas are not met. Mainly, because the government is of the opinion that it cannot interfere in political politics.

During the second wave of feminism, there was little attention to the increase of women in political decision-making. The attention of the women’s movement concentrated on sexual violence, abortion and equal rights. The conviction of the radical parts of the Dutch women

T movement was that pressure from outside politics was the best way to change society. Besides, the radical members were convinced that is was impossible for women to participate in party politics without adoption to the male standards. Consequently, measurements from the governmental side have been introduced very late. The NGOS is the Netherlands that campaign for more women in politics consist of the more conservative women’s groups coordinated by the Dutch Society for Women’s Interests. The official action to increase the number of women in political decision-making is rather meager. The government passes a policy to promote women in politics in 1992, which has been updated in 1996 and 1999.

Finally, even though the Netherlands has impressive national statistics as far as number of women in parliament and that serve as minister and secretaries of states, it does not necessarily mean that women have gained much ground in this country. There are still several more obstacles to over come, as gender issues become a serious question in the Dutch political system. Beyond the realm of politics, women leaders now have moved their attention to other social issues directly affecting women and their rights. This strong and vocal group will surely work for positive changes in The Netherlands.

Resources:

www.db-decision.de

www.e-quality.nl

www.ipu.org

www.polis.net

http://stars.coe.fr

www.tuta.hut.fi/courcedata/tu91181/CCBReports98/Netherlands1/Nelccb98.htm

Herder, Staatslexikon Band 6

Course Packet on The Netherlands