Status of Women: The Netherlands

Thankfully, compared to many countries in the World, The Netherlands does not have as many problems when it comes to women and their well-being. The Netherland's does its best to keep the women safe and work on equality as much as they can. But, like everywhere in the World, women and men are still not equal. And, unfortunately, women are still not always treated fairly, even in countries where people suspect that they are. One thing The Netherlands does to try and promote success in their women is form a committee to end the discrimination of women. It was found that women were being underpaid for jobs and that most jobs were male dominant. This committee established laws to try and fix this issue (CEDAW 2001). Since 2001 when this was established, the wellbeing of women has improved. It may sound like a lot, in fact the salary gap is roughly 17%, but it is actually one of the countries with the smallest salary gap for men and women (OECD 2012). The status of women in the Netherlands is actually better than most countries. Because of this, The Netherlands actually donates money to other countries to help with women equality and well-being. The UN created a fund to help promote Women Equality. The funds raised help provide grant money for "women's empowerment and political participation" (UN Women 2012). The fund raised over 65 million dollars to help women in Arab countries. Four countries helped donate that money: Spain, Mexico, Norway, and the Netherlands. The Netherlands has helped multiple countries to try and get to having a good status of women, like what they have. The Netherlands is a great example of how women should be treated in the World. In the maps below help emphasis this. In figure one, it shows that their rape cases are low. In figure two, their rate of women murder is low at well, especially compared to

other countries in that area. Lastly, in Figure three it displays Women's Rights. The Netherlands is one of the few countries where it is dark green, which means there is virtually no discrimination when it comes to Women's Right and Laws. The red circles on the images are where The Netherlands is located for a quick glance. The rest of the World should follow The Netherlands example in how the status of women should be.

Figure One (Women Stats Project 2011).

Figure Two (Women Stats Project 2013).

Figure Three (Women Stats Project 2011).

Resources CEDAW (2001).The Netherlands. Retrieved from http://www.iwrawap.org/committee/netherlands.htm OECD (2012). Closing the Gender Gap. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/gender/closingthegap.htm UN Women (2012). UN Womens Fund for Gender Equality Issues New Call for Proposals and Announces Grantees from the Arab States. Retrieved from http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2012/3/un-women-s-fund-for-gender-equalityissues-new-call-for-proposals-and-announces-grantees-from-the-ar Women Stats Project (2013). Maps. Retrieved from http://womanstats.org/newmapspage.html