WO=MEN Advocates for Gender Equality in New Dutch Law on Responsible Business Conduct
03-08-2026
The specific harms faced by women worldwide in international value chains risk being not identified by Dutch multinational companies under the proposed new Dutch law on Responsible Business Conduct. Women are disproportionately employed in low-paid, informal, and precarious jobs and are often confronted with underpayment, discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence. Therefore, an ambitious responsible business conduct law in which gender equality is firmly embedded is crucial.
WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform has submitted a response to the public consultation on the revised Dutch Responsible Business Conduct Act (Wet Internationaal Verantwoord Ondernemen, Wivo). The aim of this legislation is to prevent companies from being involved in human rights violations. However, the new version of the law applies only to the very largest multinational companies, requires less stakeholder engagement, restricts the collection of information from business partners, and imposes lower penalties. Furthermore, attention to gender equality is presented merely as a voluntary option. As a result, the positive impact and effectiveness of the law in protecting women’s rights and improving their position are significantly limited. That is a missed opportunity.
In our submission, WO=MEN provides several concrete suggestions and recommendations to strengthen the Dutch legislation. Read WO=MEN’s full response
here.
See also the submissions from members and partners, including
CNV Internationaal, Mondiaal FNV,
MVO Platform, and
Oxfam Novib.
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