We bieden fulltime, parttime of flexibel: Hoe worden werknormen in vacatureteksten in de verpleegkunde, het primair onderwijs, ICT en techniek gecommuniceerd?

The Netherlands and Flanders are experiencing significant labor market shortages, particularly in healthcare, education, and technology sectors. These sectors are also characterized by strong gender segregation: in technology, over 80% of the workforce is male and employed full-time, whereas in healthcare, over 80% is female and employed part-time. This situation is undesirable for numerous socioeconomic reasons. HR professionals require actionable insights to attract a more diverse labor pool. Although considerable attention is given to gender-inclusive language (neutral language that does not imply a specific gender as the norm) in job advertisements, there is a paucity of research on the communication of work norms across different sectors and the normative depiction of the ‘ideal’ employee in masculine and feminine sectors. This study investigates whether employment conditions in job advertisements also reflect a specific gender norm. We explore (1) indications of normalization of fulltime/parttime norms in masculine versus feminine sectors within job advertisements, and (2) whether these norms differ between the primary education and nursing sectors compared to the IT and technology sectors. Using a mixed-methods design, we conducted interviews with eight HR professionals and performed a text analysis of 160 job advertisements to empirically address these questions. The findings reveal sectoral differences in employment norms: job advertisements in masculine sectors predominantly offer fulltime contracts with limited flexibility, while those in feminine sectors mainly offer part-time positions with greater flexibility. These fulltime/parttime norms reinforce gender role expectations regarding ‘male’ and ‘female’ occupations. The study discusses the implications for HR practices in addressing gender inequality through inclusive employment conditions in recruitment and selection processes.