PhD defence Katarzyna Magda Grabska-Romagosa

Keywords: Inequality, Gender Wage Gap, Part-Time Work, Firm Heterogeneity

"Dutch wage inequality: The role of part-time work and firm heterogeneity"

This thesis examines how wage inequality has developed in the Netherlands over recent decades and why these differences arise. Using large-scale data that link workers to the firms they work for, the research provides a detailed picture of how earnings differ between men and women, between part-time and full-time workers, and across different companies. A central theme is the unique Dutch labour market, where part-time work is very common, especially among women. The thesis shows that part-time work plays a major role in explaining both the gender wage gap and overall wage inequality. It also finds that firms themselves contribute significantly to wage differences: some companies pay systematically higher wages than others. The structure of the workforce—who works where and for how many hours—shapes these patterns.

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