Workplace diversity statistics in the Netherlands: trends and sector gaps for 2026

What do workplace diversity statistics actually measure, and where do they come from?

Workplace diversity statistics for the Netherlands come mainly from three sources: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), and the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. CBS maps the composition of the labour market and publishes the annual Cultural Diversity Barometer. SCP, meanwhile, studies how people actually experience inclusion day to day. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights tracks complaints and rulings on equal treatment. Together, these three sources form the backbone of Dutch diversity data.

The terms themselves mean genuinely different things. Diversity is about who is doing the work, covering traits such as age, gender and migration background across the workforce. Inclusion, by contrast, is about experience: whether people feel safe and get equal opportunities. Discrimination, finally, covers unequal treatment and the complaints that follow from it. To get the full picture, you need to look at each of these separately before combining them.

Workplace diversity statistics that describe the current Dutch labour market

The Dutch workforce numbered around 9.8 million people in 2025, with a labour participation rate of roughly 73%. Diversity within that group has been rising for years. Currently about 26% of workers have a migration background, a share that keeps climbing as a result of demographic shifts and higher labour participation overall.

The split between men and women also varies sharply by seniority. Although women make up around 47% of the workforce, they work part-time considerably more often. Their share in senior roles remains lower still, typically hovering between 15% and 20%. Within Europe, the Netherlands sits somewhere in the middle of the pack on this measure.

Age plays a significant role too. Around 21% of workers are currently 55 or older, a share that keeps rising as the population ages. At the same time, the inflow of younger workers is lagging in certain sectors, which is pushing employers to widen their view of where talent comes from. For extra context, see our page on recruitment statistics and benchmarks, where we link this data directly to hiring and company growth.

What do workplace diversity statistics look like sector by sector in the Netherlands?

Diversity across Dutch sectors varies enormously by industry, largely a result of specific entry requirements, historical hiring patterns and prevailing working conditions. In technology, for example, the share of women hovers around 20%. Women remain under-represented in the Dutch tech sector, although there is a modest upward trend.

The healthcare sector, by contrast, is overwhelmingly female. Within nursing specifically, that share climbs above 80%, even though the proportion of women in management roles within the same sector is markedly lower. Construction remains a strongly male-dominated sector, with under 15% female employees. In the public sector, the gender split is generally more balanced, and the share of staff with a migration background tends to be higher within larger public organisations, although they still appear less often in senior positions.

Financial services show a healthy balance at entry level, while senior roles are still more often filled by men. Retail is characterised mainly by a young workforce and a lot of part-time work. Looking at education, primary schools employ a particularly high share of women, while higher education is more evenly balanced. All of these differences make one thing clear: diversity and inclusion figures for 2026 only make sense when read in the context of a specific sector.

Trends in workplace diversity statistics heading into 2026

Looking at the trend lines in workplace diversity statistics, the picture is one of gradual change. The share of employees with a migration background keeps growing steadily. Women's labour participation is edging up too, particularly among older age groups. The share of women in board-level roles is also rising, partly driven by new policy and growing public pressure.

Despite this positive movement, progression into senior roles still lags behind. Many organisations now have a fairly diverse intake, but that diversity still isn't showing up enough at the top. This points to structural bottlenecks in career paths and selection processes, which is exactly why it pays to actively benchmark external market figures against your own internal data.

Inclusion and discrimination within workplace diversity statistics

Inclusion figures show how people actually experience their work. SCP's inclusion research, for instance, shows that employees with a migration background report forms of exclusion more often. Sadly, the same holds true for people with a disability. Diversity without inclusion is therefore never a finished result: physical presence alone says nothing about equal, fair treatment.

The monitor run by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights shows exactly where workplace discrimination occurs most often. These complaints disproportionately concern recruitment, selection and terms of employment. The most commonly cited grounds for discrimination are origin, gender and physical or mental disability. These statistics point squarely at the sore spot, showing precisely where HR processes carry the biggest risk.

What do tools like the CBS Cultural Diversity Barometer actually measure?

The CBS Cultural Diversity Barometer gives organisations clear insight into the make-up of their own workforce. Employers can use it, for example, to see what share of staff has a background from within or outside Europe. The underlying data is carefully drawn from population registers and is only ever shown in aggregated, group-level form.

It's important to understand what the barometer does not measure: inclusion or personal experience. The tool tells you nothing about how staff actually experience their work or the company culture. Using this kind of tool also demands strict attention to privacy, since the data may only ever be shared and processed in heavily aggregated form. It's a useful tool for gaining insight, but absolutely not the full picture on its own.

GDPR and the use of workplace diversity statistics within organisations

The moment your organisation starts working with diversity data, GDPR and other strict privacy rules apply without exception. Collecting this kind of data must always serve a clearly defined, pre-established purpose, and processing it demands real care. In practice, this means working almost exclusively with aggregated data, so figures can never be traced back to individual employees.

To measure inclusion properly, a system of voluntary self-reporting can help. Take extra care with smaller teams, where the risk of individuals becoming identifiable rises sharply. It's therefore wise to always analyse this kind of data at a broader, higher level. That approach not only prevents unintended misreadings, it also protects staff privacy in the best possible way.

Turning workplace diversity statistics into recruitment and policy

The workplace diversity statistics you gather only become genuinely valuable once you put them into practice. Start with a thorough review of your entire recruitment process. Look critically at the ratios across incoming applications, invitations extended and final hires. Unexplained gaps within that funnel can point to unconscious bias in the procedure.

Regularly compare your own internal data against broader sector figures to spot notable deviations early. Our page for corporate recruitment teams explains how this works in practice. A consistent way of communicating also helps considerably in reducing unwanted differences between candidates. Working with fixed instructions for recruitment communication safeguards a clear, objective and genuinely equal selection process.

Practical steps to take with workplace diversity statistics

Want to get started straight away? Begin with a solid baseline measurement and compare the resulting internal figures against reliable national data. Systematically analyse intake, progression and outflow within your own organisation. Alongside that, try to map the real employee experience through a targeted inclusion survey. It's essential to discuss these findings regularly with all stakeholders and firmly embed them in your wider HR policy and business goals.

Our practical examples from recruitment teams show you exactly how other organisations are tackling this successfully. Would you rather talk through the right interpretation or application for your own specific situation? Then feel free to get in touch with us for a tailored, focused analysis of your figures and processes.

Frequently asked questions about workplace diversity statistics

What's the difference between diversity and inclusion in the statistics?
Diversity is purely about the make-up of your workforce. Inclusion, by contrast, is about how people actually experience their work and the working environment.

How reliable are workplace diversity statistics in the Netherlands?
Data from bodies such as CBS, SCP and the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights is highly reliable, since it is based on large-scale, structural research. Correctly interpreting these figures, though, always requires the right context and a proper comparison.

Is an organisation actually allowed to collect its own diversity data?
Yes, but only under strict conditions. Current privacy rules require a pre-specified, legitimate purpose, fully voluntary participation from employees, and extremely careful data processing.

Why do the figures differ so much from one sector to another?
Different industries simply apply completely different entry requirements, have a different hiring history, and carry their own distinct workplace cultures. Together, these factors drive major variation in workforce composition and internal progression opportunities.