2014.06【1】Lessons From a Feminist ParadiseAOn the surface, Sweden appears to be a feminist paradise. Look at any global survey of gender equalityand Sweden will be near the top. Family-friendly policies are its norm-with 16 months of paid parent all eave, special protections for part-time workers, and state-subsidized preschools where, according to a government website, gender-awareness education is increasingly common. Due to an unofficial quotasystem, women hold 45 percent of positions in the Swedish parliament. They have enjoyed the protection of government agencies with titles like the Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality and the Secretariat of Gender Research. So why are American women so far ahead of their Swedish counterpartsin breaking through the glass ceiling?B In a 2012 report, the World Economic Forum found that when it comes to closing the gender gap ineconomic participation and opportunity, the United States is ahead of not only Sweden but also Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Swedens rank in there port can largely be explained by its political quota system. Though the United States has fewer women in the workforce(68 percent compared to Swedens 77 percent), American women who choose to beemployed are far more likely to work full-time and to hold high-level jobs as managers or professionals.They also own more businesses, launch more start-ups (新创办的企业), and more often work in traditionally male fields. As for breaking through the glass ceiling in business, American women are well in the lead.C What explains the American advantage? How can it be that societies like Sweden, where gender equalityis vigorously pursued and enforced, have fewer female managers, executives, professionals, and business owners than the laissez-faire (自由放任的 ) United States? A new study by Cornell economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn gives an explanation.DGenerous parental leave policies and readily available part-time options have unintended consequences:instead of strengthening womens attachment to the workplace, they appear to weaken it. In addition toa 16-month leave, a Swedish parent has the right to work six hours a day (for a reduced salary) until hisor her child is eight years old. Mothers are far more likely than fathers to take advantage of this law. But extended leaves and part-time employment are known to be harmful to careers-for both genders. Andwith women a second factor comes into play: most seem to enjoy the flexible-time arrangement (onceknown as themommy track) and never find their way back to full-time or high-level employment. Insum: generous family-friendly policies do keep more women in the labor market, but they also tend to diminish their careers.E According to Blau and Kahn, Swedish-style paternal (父亲的) leave policies and flexible-time arrangements pose a second threat to womens progress: they make employers cautious about hiring women for full-time positions at all. Offering a job to a man is the safer bet. He is far less likely to takea year of parental leave and then return on a reduced work schedule for the next eight years.F I became aware of the trials of career-focused European women a few years ago when I met a post-doctoral student from Germany who was then a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins. She was astonished bythe professional possibilities afforded to young American women. Her best hope in Germany was a government job-prospects for women in the private sector were dim. In Germany, she told me, we have all the benefits, but employers dont want to hire us.G Swedish economists Magnus Henrekson and Mikael Stenkula addressed the following question in their2009 study: why are there so few female top executives in the European egalitarian (平等主义的)welfare states? Their answer:Broad-based welfare-state policies hinder womens representation in elitecompetitive positions.H It is tempting to declare the Swedish policies regressive (退步的) and hail the American system assuperior. But that would be shortsighted. The Swedes can certainly take a lesson from the United Statesand look for ways to clear a path for their ambitious female careerists. But most women are notcommitted careerists. When the Pew Research Center recently asked American parents to identify theirideal life arrangement,47 percent of mothers said they would prefer to work part-time and 20 percentsaid they would prefer not to work at all. Fathers answered differently: 75 percent preferred full-timework. Some version of the Swedish system might work well for a majority of American parents, but theUnited States is unlikely to fully embrace the Swedish model. Still, we can learn from their experience.I) Despite its failure to shatter the glass ceiling, Sweden has one of the most powerful and in novative economies in the world. In its 2011-2012 survey, the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the worlds third most competitive economy; th