ABP and APG organize Exhibition Woman and Income

100 years ago, the Netherlands chose to take care of a pension together. And 100 years ago, ABP the pension fund for government and education was established. ABP and APG are jointly commemorating this milestone and are organizing various activities, including 100|The Exhibition.

On the occasion of the centenary of 100 years of retirement in the Netherlands, 100|The Exposition was festively opened on Tuesday September 27 at the head office of APG. The opening was performed by Sophie van Gool, author of 'Why women earn less; and what we can do about it' and columnist at the Financieele Dagblad. She was accompanied by Harmen van Wijnen (Chairman of ABP) and Francine van Dierendonck and Maarten Blacquière (members of the APG Board of Directors).

After the opening, the exhibition, which is open to everyone, will travel via the ABP and APG offices in Amsterdam to the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden, one of ABP's affiliated employers. The exhibition will also be made available in digital form, among others to the 3.1 million participants of ABP.

Pension gap
1922, the year ABP was founded, was also the year that Dutch women were able to use the active right to vote for the first time - which they had been granted in 1919 - during the elections to the House of Representatives. Although quite a lot has been achieved, 100 years later, the playing field between men and women is still uneven. For example, the average gross salary of women is still about 13% lower than that of men and the pension gap between men and women is as much as 40%. This is the second largest pension gap in Europe and is due to the fact that women are more likely to work part-time and, in practice, are often paid less than men for equal work.

To life
To draw attention to the (financial) inequality between men and women, ABP and APG sought collaboration with historians Els Kloek - known for '1001 women in Dutch history' - and Katja Krediet. ABP and APG also conducted research into the future of financial (in)equality in collaboration with the Motivaction agency. The exhibition tells the life story of nine different people, who always live at a different moment in time. On the basis of these stories, the legal position, education and labor participation of women at that time come to life: from women who were fired after getting married because otherwise 'marriages remained childless', to the rise of the pill and the Dolle Minas. From women who until 1971 'owe obedience to the man' according to the law to women who - today - marry someone of the same sex.

Mirror
Every life event includes a so-called 'reality check' for the visitor himself. He literally looks in a mirror and is confronted with questions such as 'what does it mean for you and your financial situation if you decide to buy a house or if you decide to work part-time'? In this way, ABP wants to increase the financial awareness of current generations and hopefully contribute to closing the financial and social gap between men and women.