Recruiters in the Netherlands approach women much less often than they do men when they look for staff, even with the tightness in the labour market and staff shortages in multiple sectors, reports the NL Times citing a study from Financieele Dagblad and the Intelligence Group. The study kept track of how often employees, students and unemployed people are approached with an offer of a job. It found that 43% of men said they are approached at least once a quarter, compared to 31% of women. Robert van Veggel, director for recruitment company Steens & Partners in Zuid- and Oost-Nederland, said the only explanation he can think of is that women want to work part-time more often and are therefore left out of people contacted for permanent positions. Geert-Jan Waasdorp, Founder and CEO of the Intelligence Group, said that this explanation falls flat because the profiles don't show in advance whether someone is looking for part-time or full-time work. Last month the Dutch social affairs ministry proposed new legislation that would fine as well as name and shame recruitment firms that discriminate.