then return on a reduced workschedule for the next eight years.

[F]I became aware of the triale ofcareer-focused European woman a few years ago when I met a post-doctoralstudent from Germany who was then a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins. She wasastonished by the professional possibilities afforded to young American woman.Her best hope in Germany was agovermment job—prospects for woman in the private sector were dim.”In Germany “ she told me,”we have all the benefits,”but employers don’t’ wan to hire us.”

[G] Swedish economists MagnusHenrekson and Mikael Stenkula addressed the following question in their 2009study: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 women’s representation in elitecompetitive positions.”

[H] It is tempting to declare theSwedish policies regressive(退步的)and hail theAmerican system as superior.But that would be shortsighted.The Swedes cancertainly take a lesson from the United States and look for ways to clear apath for their ambitious female careerists. But most woman are not committsdcareerists.When the Pew Research Center recently asked American parents toidentify their”ideal”life arrangement,47 percent of mothers said they would prefer towork park-time and 20percent said they would prefer not to work at all.Fathersanswered differrntly:75 percent preferred full-time work.Some version of theSwedish system might work well for a majority of American parents,but theUnited States is unlikely to fully embrace the Swedish model. Still,we canlearn from their experience.

[I] Despite its failure to shatter the glass ceiling,Sweden has one ofthe most powerful and innovative economies in the world.In its2011-2012survey,the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the “rockstar of the recovery”in the Washington Post,also leads the world in life satisfactionand happiness. It is a society well worth studying,and its efforts to conquerthe gender gap impart a vital lesson—though not the lesson the Swedeshad in mind。

[J] Sweden has gone farther thanany other nation on earth to integrate the sexes and to offer women the sameopportunities and freedoms as men.For decades,these descendants of the Vikingshave been trying to show the world that the right mix of enlinghtenedpolicy.consciousness raising, and non-sexist child rearingwould close thegender divide once and for all.Yet the divide persists.

[K] A 2012 press release fromStatistics Sweden bears the title “Gender Equality