«Introduction and summary
The problem is all too familiar: Despite women’s increased rates of employment,
rising levels of educational development, and growing place as primary breadwinners,
gender inequality remains pervasive. Women continue to be underrepresented
in key decision-making positions in politics, business, and public life.
In the United States, the discussion of this conundrum tends to focus on personal
improvement and the notion of “leaning in” popularized by Facebook COO
Sheryl Sandberg. However, a number of developed nations, particularly those in
Europe, have sought to remedy gender inequality primarily through public policy.
This report aims to analyze and understand the benefits and limitations of such
policies by exploring the direct and indirect roles that they play in supporting
women’s progress in the workforce and, specifically, in helping boost their advancement
into leadership positions. It looks at policies that tackle the leadership issue
via quotas—which aim to have a direct impact on women’s representation—and
also examines policies such as affordable child care, paid parental leave, and flexible
work arrangements that help lay the groundwork for women’s leadership indirectly
by enabling women to stay in the workforce after becoming mothers.
Examining the differences in employment rates between mothers and nonmothers
is one way to clearly see how well a country does—or does not—support
women’s abilities to remain active in the workforce throughout their adult lives.
Through a detailed discussion of policies abroad, this report will show that countries
that have affordable and high-quality child care systems—for example, the
Scandinavian nations—tend to have higher maternal employment rates, paving
the way for women’s advancement. Paid parental leave and flexible work policies
with genuine choices for both parents can also be a retention tool that, by offering
mothers and fathers the ability to work and to care, aid women’s long-term prospects
and advance the goals of gender equality more generally».
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