Women And Leadership Course at GW's GSPM

Welcome to the 2010 Summer semester blog on women in political leadership. Content will include discussion about the books read in class as well as the politics of the day. Blogging is an important skill and vital to engaging more women in politics. This blog is intended as an educational tool to all women and men interested in promoting women in politics.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

In Sweden, Men Can Have It All

I couldn't help myself I had to post this --

Included in the title to this post is a fascinating article from the New York Times today on Sweden and how they have used quotas to impact a cultural shift towards more male responsibility. The article brings up "daddy leave" AND it quotes a GW professor. A great read!

Here is an excerpt:

"Sweden, he said, faced a vicious circle. Women continued to take parental leave not just for tradition’s sake but because their pay was often lower, thus perpetuating pay differences. Companies, meanwhile, made clear to men that staying home with baby was not compatible with a career.

“Society is a mirror of the family,” Mr. Westerberg said. “The only way to achieve equality in society is to achieve equality in the home. Getting fathers to share the parental leave is an essential part of that.”

Introducing “daddy leave” in 1995 had an immediate impact. No father was forced to stay home, but the family lost one month of subsidies if he did not. Soon more than eight in 10 men took leave. The addition of a second nontransferable father month in 2002 only marginally increased the number of men taking leave, but it more than doubled the amount of time they take."

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