Women are less self-confident than men, are not as quick to think that they’re suitable or to push themselves forward. That is not just my impression, it has been confirmed by psychological  BIS Review 12/2003  1  research. Another factor is that women sometimes have other preferences in respect of combining their career and family.
That is only to be respected and means that, wherever we can, we should create the conditions for combining work and childcare. Not every job can be done part-time but there are plenty of positions, even at senior levels, that offer the flexibility that women prefer because of personal circumstances. That brings me to the Nederlandsche Bank’s policy in this area.