Wil Velders-Vlasblom

Wilhelmina ("Wil") Velders-Vlasblom was born in Schiedam, 2 May 1930. Her father was a coppersmith at a shipyard. She had four brothers.^[3][1] Velders-Vlasblom grew up in Rotterdam. Before World War II, her parents were members of the SDAP (predecessor of the PvdA) and she was then a member of the Arbeiders Jeugd Centrale (AJC). In 1943, the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO) she was attending was bombed, and she was unable to finish school.^[1] At the age of sixteen, she studied an administrative law course through a trade union where she learned about the "pay gap".^[3]

After the war, she married and with her husband and young son, moved to Utrecht in 1950.^[1][3] Five years later, she became politically active in the PvdA, eventually becoming secretary of the Rooie Vrouwen in de PvdA, the women's organization within the party.^[3] Her activism included a woman's right to abortion.^[3] In 1969, she joined the Utrecht city council in 1969. In September 1974, she became the first woman alderman in Utrecht, and in November 1986, her appointment as mayor of Beverwijk followed.^[2] She retired from the position in June 1995.^[1] Velders-Vlasblom died in Utrecht, 20 January 2019 at the age of 88.^[4]