Feminist policies are actually pro-natal policies in disguise

*The Nordic Gender Equality Paradox* by Tyler Cowen commenting on a new book about a phenomenon I have mentioned a number of times over the years. The countries with the most pro-female policies, (family leave, quotas, free day care, etc.) have policies that look very pro-natal in nature and impact. Most these countries, such as the Scandinavian countries, France, Netherlands, etc., also have much more restrictive approaches to abortion, at least compared to the US. The even greater paradox is that these policies lead to workforce outcomes the very opposite of what pro-female activist groups believe will happen. The more female affirmative the nation's policies, the less represented women are in competitive industries, the fewer achievements in any field and the greater presence they hold in lower paying, but secure, government jobs.

America, much derided by the bien pensant, has the most open system to women to achieve top performance in the largest and widest number of fields of endeavor.

From Cowen's post:

That is the new and quite interesting book by Nima Sanandaji. The main point is that there are plenty of Nordic women in politics, or on company boards, but few CEOs or senior managers. In fact the OECD country with the highest share of women as senior managers is the United States, coming in at 43 percent compared to 31 percent in the Nordics. More generally, countries with more equal gender norms do not have a higher share of women in senior management positions. Within Europe, Bulgaria does best and other than Cyprus, Denmark and Sweden do the worst in this regard.