Despite decades of fighting for equality between women and men, equality in the workplace is still far from being achieved. Take economics, Wagner's field of study. "In 2022, among the 100 best-published economists in the world, no more than seven were women.” In addition, only 22% of academic staff in the top 25 economics departments at universities are women. At Radboud University, Wagner sees it too. Within her department, she is the only female full professor.
Women have structural obstacles to overcome in their work that do not exist for their male colleagues. “The workplace is not yet set up in such a way that women and mothers can feel as much at home as men. Women are still less likely to be promoted, they are less likely to be hired and rated lower in evaluations," Wagner lists. She also points to transgressive behaviour: a problem everyone speaks about with some outrage but it is still too often glossed over, despite the effects being all too recognizable to many women.
The stretch between motherhood and work
Another problem Wagner points out is the tension between motherhood and work. Parenting and pursuing a career are two tasks that are difficult to combine in a society where care responsibilities most often fall to women. Per week, women spend an average of 21 hours on care duties compared to 11 hours for men.
This implies that women are less seen in the workplace, sometimes literally, and so slowly disappear from the radar. “For a long time, I also thought that women could progress in their career by simply working hard enough, but there are moments when you can no longer manage it all and you have to make choices. For example, when you have to miss a professor's dinner because your child is sick at home.”
The split between motherhood and work makes many women decide to work part-time. “And it turns out that it is not easy to return to work full-time once the children are older,” Wagner says. Eens deeltijd, altijd deeltijd (Once part-time, always part-time), was the telling title of a report published last year by the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau (Social Cultural Planning Bureau). “Now that we face a staff shortage in many sectors, we should also look at this problem.”
Late for work
As a society, it is crucial to relieve the pressure on women and distribute care responsibilities more equally. As director of the Global Data Lab, Wagner relies on numbers. Those help to see the recurring problems. She believes that social experiments can help to counteract some of the challenges. “It is not enough to simply implement pro-women policy rules, we also need to take the atmosphere in the workplace into account. For example, we need to create the space for employees to say that they are exhausted because they have a newborn child at home or give them the flexibility to work from home. Too often, women still have to keep up a façade and pretend they are not bothered by anything. Such behavior only takes up unnecessary energy.”
A work environment where women can be more open also helps men and opens the door to a more equal division of care responsibilities. Wagner: "I know men who are not comfortable bringing their children to school because their colleagues can then see that they arrive later at work. Both women and men benefit from a less stereotypical and rigid view of their roles, at work and as parents.”
International Women's Day Celebration
March 8 is International Women's Day. In celebration, the Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies network and the Radboud Network of Women Professors have organized a programme with lectures, a panel discussion, an awards ceremony, lunch and a reception with drinks. Natascha Wagner is one of the speakers. You are cordially invited to attend the entire program or part of it.
Photo: Mimi Thian via Unsplash