The Art of Combination

The traditional breadwinner household has lost its dominant position once and for all. For the first time, the majority of Dutch couples are combining two paid jobs with looking after the household. Who are these 'combination artists'? It is found that they cannot all be placed in the same category. Double-earners exist in a number of variants, each with their own profile. Some of them succeed in dividing the tasks in a reasonably balanced way, but the majority do not. This report devotes extensive attention to the employment position of the two partners, the outsourcing of care tasks and the attitudes of both the man and the woman to working, care and combining the two. It shows that a certain division of labour between the partners arises due to an interplay of factors. The results not only offer an insight into the opportunities and limitations of combining work and care tasks, but also provide pointers for government policy designed to achieve the 'combination scenario'.