Abstract

In this paper the author analyses the rapid expansion of part-time work in the Netherlands. This is not seen as the result of deliberate public policy, but rather as the outcome of a non-organised process driven by the late entry of married women in the labour force under adverse circumstances (austerity policy of the government, rising unemployment, and absence of childcare and paid leave facilities). The coping solution of women became the basis for a process of policy learning, which led to the acceptance and normalization of part-time work, with an emphasis on making the differences between full-time and part-time jobs as small as possible. In the final section of the article the social and economic viability of the "part-time" or "one-and-a-half earner" model is discussed.