The decades-long criticism of the low labour participation among refugees in the Netherlands has been reignited since mid-2022 by the arrival of Ukrainian refugees. This refugee group, protected by an exceptional European Union regulation, is entering the Dutch labour market in significantly larger numbers and at a noticeably faster rate than other (regular) refugee groups. The media, politicians and academics have suggested various explanations for this difference in labour participation. Ho...

The thesis investigates the relevance and effectiveness of pay transparency in reducing the gender pay gap, focusing on the new European directive addressing it. Despite progress, the EU gender pay gap remained at 12.7% in 2021, driven by factors such as sectoral segregation and the "glass ceiling," while some disparities remain unexplained. To uncover these hidden factors, the directive imposes pay transparency obligations on employers, mandating salary disclosures and facilitating employee ...