Friday, February 27, 2009
In Case You've Been Wondering
I've been learning how to save the world at a climate and energy conference in London. Looking forward to catching up on my blog reading!
Monday, February 23, 2009
A Challenge, Literally
I've been challenged by my cousin Emma.
Rules: This is harder than you think! Each answer must begin with the first letter in your name! All answers must be real; don't make up words! If the person who tagged you have a name that starts with the same letter as yours you cannot give the same answers as he/she has. You are not allowed to write the same answer twice or use your name as an answer (except for the first question of course)! Good luck!
1. What's your name? Anna
2. A word with four letters: Able
3. Girl's name: Aurora
4. Boy's name: Amadeus
5. Profession: Accountant
6. Colour: Atracit grey
7. Clothing: Anorak
8. Food: Artichoke
9. Thing in the bathroom: Antiperspirant
10. Place/city: Arctic
11. Reason to be late: Accident
12. Shouting: Act now!
13. Film: Apollo 13
14. Drink: Amarula
15. Band: A Camp
16. Animal: Abyssinian cat
17. Street name: Artillerigatan
18. Car: Alternative
19. Song: American Pie
20. Activity with more than one participant: Arguing
It was indeed harder than I thought! I challenge whoever wants to give it a try!
Rules: This is harder than you think! Each answer must begin with the first letter in your name! All answers must be real; don't make up words! If the person who tagged you have a name that starts with the same letter as yours you cannot give the same answers as he/she has. You are not allowed to write the same answer twice or use your name as an answer (except for the first question of course)! Good luck!
1. What's your name? Anna
2. A word with four letters: Able
3. Girl's name: Aurora
4. Boy's name: Amadeus
5. Profession: Accountant
6. Colour: Atracit grey
7. Clothing: Anorak
8. Food: Artichoke
9. Thing in the bathroom: Antiperspirant
10. Place/city: Arctic
11. Reason to be late: Accident
12. Shouting: Act now!
13. Film: Apollo 13
14. Drink: Amarula
15. Band: A Camp
16. Animal: Abyssinian cat
17. Street name: Artillerigatan
18. Car: Alternative
19. Song: American Pie
20. Activity with more than one participant: Arguing
It was indeed harder than I thought! I challenge whoever wants to give it a try!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Show & Tell: Coffee
Today's theme - from Simone this month - is coffee. With not so much time today to write or take pictures of colourful coffee beans or cups with steamy cappucino, I was wondering what I could blog about. But then I came to think of my first experience of coffee. It was actually in pre-school. The last year of pre-school, i.e. when I was around 6 (school starts at 7 in Sweden, well, now 6 if you count the so-called "pre-school class"), we had a few hours a week of school preparation. But it wasn't only about letters and numbers and stuff; it also covered other things we could usefully learn. Like drinking coffee.
No, don't worry, it wasn't like we were gulping down litres of coffee every day but I think their idea was that we were allowed to try things we were curious about, in a controlled and structured setting. One thing we did was to learn how to light matches. This both took away the excitement of something forbidden and taught us about the danger of fire. Another thing I remember is that those of us who wanted to got to try coffee. I remember I had mine with LOTS of milk and sugar :) We probably did a lot of other things in the preparation group but I actually only remember the matches and the coffee, come to think of it!
On a completely different note, or actually, kind of related at it is about taking risks and trying things, I heard a saying that I like twice this week: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
Have a nice weekend!
No, don't worry, it wasn't like we were gulping down litres of coffee every day but I think their idea was that we were allowed to try things we were curious about, in a controlled and structured setting. One thing we did was to learn how to light matches. This both took away the excitement of something forbidden and taught us about the danger of fire. Another thing I remember is that those of us who wanted to got to try coffee. I remember I had mine with LOTS of milk and sugar :) We probably did a lot of other things in the preparation group but I actually only remember the matches and the coffee, come to think of it!
On a completely different note, or actually, kind of related at it is about taking risks and trying things, I heard a saying that I like twice this week: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
Have a nice weekend!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday Recipe
Girls' Dinner
5 friends
Nuts, crisps and dips for pre-dinner nibbles
A main dish of your choice
A salad or side dish of your choice
Wine and appropriate equivalent for the preggos and drivers among you
Cake, biscotti and sweets for dessert
Talk, chatter, giggles and laughter
Mix all ingredients and enjoy!
5 friends
Nuts, crisps and dips for pre-dinner nibbles
A main dish of your choice
A salad or side dish of your choice
Wine and appropriate equivalent for the preggos and drivers among you
Cake, biscotti and sweets for dessert
Talk, chatter, giggles and laughter
Mix all ingredients and enjoy!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Show & Tell: Close to Heart
This week's Friday theme is close to heart or "closest to heart" if you translate the Swedish "närmast hjärtat". I could write about Peter and my family but the person most on my mind at the moment is a close friend, one of my three best, best friends, who's ill at the moment. It is not life-threatening (as far as we know) but she's been very ill for six or seven weeks now and the doctors don't know what it is. They think it is a very, very mean virus, but in the worst-case scenario it could be a chronic disease that will come and go all her life. Luckily the bad stuff has been ruled out, such as cancer. She remains in good spirits but it's of course tough not knowing what it is, being in pain all the time and not being able to work or do stuff.
She's probably not reading this but I just wanted to say anyway that she's in my thoughts and prayers. I don't really care about Valentine's Day but I did send her a card this year. She needs all the encouragement and getting well-wishes she can get.
She's probably not reading this but I just wanted to say anyway that she's in my thoughts and prayers. I don't really care about Valentine's Day but I did send her a card this year. She needs all the encouragement and getting well-wishes she can get.
New Career?
This morning I went for the annual health check* my employer pays for (well, I should say will pay for because it's a new benefit just introduced). It didn't start out well as I had waaaaaay too much wine to drink at a girls' dinner last night and as a consequence was not feeling my best this morning, a condition that wasn't helped by the fact that I wasn't allowed to eat anything before the check. Anyway, turns out that despite being hungover I have the eye sight of a fighter pilot!
* Very thorough examination including blood analysis, ECG, height and weight, vision and hearing, etc.
* Very thorough examination including blood analysis, ECG, height and weight, vision and hearing, etc.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A Night at the Ballet
Went to see the famous Cullberg Ballet on Monday evening. I was a bit sceptical about the whole thing the first ten minutes or so (talking to Peter afterwards he told me that he had been thinking exactly the same) but then it picked up or perhaps we simply got used to the style. For those of you not familiar with Cullberg they put on very modern interpretations of famous ballets or their own very special repertoires.
The second scene (or whatever you call it; there were no proper breaks but you could tell there were different parts to the story...if there was a story) was very dramatic. The music got faster and louder and heavier and the dancing got more hectic and chaos-like. It was very emotional and I felt like my heart was going to beat faster and faster. I was thinking that someone in the audience is going to have a heart attack or a mental breakdown soon. It reminded me of the time I went to see the Kristina från Duvemåla musical and someone in the audience started screaming "help" and "turn the lights on" in the middle of a dramatic scene where Kristina almost dies during child birth. It was a woman screaming so I thought she had perhaps experienced something similar or had a post partum depression or similar, but it turned out to be her husband who had collapsed. They had to stop the show for about 20 minutes while the ambulance came. Fortunately it didn't seem to be life-threatening, as he was conscious when they took him outside.
But back to the ballet. Some of the other scenes were equally interesting but in different ways. While that scene hit my emotional buttons I interpreted the rest of the scenes to be about - though I could be totally wrong of course - modern life. There was one that seemed to show the stress of modern life, how we run everywhere, both in terms of things we want to accomplish, and literally, from work to pre-school to pick up our children. One scene seemed to be a fight between four men (or two against two) and another one about the competition in the work place or in business - about how we either support or fight each other or go it alone.
There was also a interesting snogging (making out for the non-Brits among you) scene where the couple danced and kissed at the same time. It was pretty cool how they were able to dance and stay mouth-to-mouth so-to-speak the whole time (almost). That scene started with each cast member kissing the guy, either on the cheek or the mouth, before the woman he made out with entered the scene. My yet again amateur interpretation of that was that the others were all the people that pass through your life before you meet the right one.
The title of the ballet was "Positions of Elsewhere", which made me think of how we humans sometimes want to be elsewhere or aspire to things, or think the grass is greener. That reinforced my interpretation of it being scenes of modern life.
Walking home I told Peter about all my theories and it was interesting to hear that he hadn't really tried to understand what it was about or interpret anything. He had just enjoyed the movement and the dancers' skills, the art form if you like. But he said that of course I could be right :)
I enjoyed the dancing too of course. I mean, this is one of the best ballets in the world and it's not just because of the modern choreography, etc. The way they moved their bodies and how they interacted with each other was amazing. There were several scenes, or parts of scenes, where they either worked with shadows on the back wall of the stage or had one dancer acting (dancing, I guess) the other person's shadow, which was pretty cool (well, the shadow dancer was not as good as she could have been but the idea was good). I also liked when in one of the scenes two or three people rolled on the floor and another one "walked" over them. It was syncronised so well so that it looked so natural, like floating. It's hard to explain it but hopefully you get an idea of what I mean.
We also loved the ceiling lamp that was the only decor on stage and we want to make a miniature copy for ourselves! I wish I could explain what it looked like...well, I'll try. It was like circles within circles and the circles moved so that sometimes all circles were aligned at the same level but most of the time the circles were all different and sometimes more up on the left side and sometimes on the right side. The lighting came in different colours and strength. We would obviously not be able to have an electronically controlled lamp but we could have cables or strings that we could adjust once in a while. Any lamp designers out there who can help us?!
The Cullberg Ballet is only in town this week so if you want to see them, you'd better hurry up! Tickets from Dansens hus or Ticnet.
The second scene (or whatever you call it; there were no proper breaks but you could tell there were different parts to the story...if there was a story) was very dramatic. The music got faster and louder and heavier and the dancing got more hectic and chaos-like. It was very emotional and I felt like my heart was going to beat faster and faster. I was thinking that someone in the audience is going to have a heart attack or a mental breakdown soon. It reminded me of the time I went to see the Kristina från Duvemåla musical and someone in the audience started screaming "help" and "turn the lights on" in the middle of a dramatic scene where Kristina almost dies during child birth. It was a woman screaming so I thought she had perhaps experienced something similar or had a post partum depression or similar, but it turned out to be her husband who had collapsed. They had to stop the show for about 20 minutes while the ambulance came. Fortunately it didn't seem to be life-threatening, as he was conscious when they took him outside.
But back to the ballet. Some of the other scenes were equally interesting but in different ways. While that scene hit my emotional buttons I interpreted the rest of the scenes to be about - though I could be totally wrong of course - modern life. There was one that seemed to show the stress of modern life, how we run everywhere, both in terms of things we want to accomplish, and literally, from work to pre-school to pick up our children. One scene seemed to be a fight between four men (or two against two) and another one about the competition in the work place or in business - about how we either support or fight each other or go it alone.
There was also a interesting snogging (making out for the non-Brits among you) scene where the couple danced and kissed at the same time. It was pretty cool how they were able to dance and stay mouth-to-mouth so-to-speak the whole time (almost). That scene started with each cast member kissing the guy, either on the cheek or the mouth, before the woman he made out with entered the scene. My yet again amateur interpretation of that was that the others were all the people that pass through your life before you meet the right one.
The title of the ballet was "Positions of Elsewhere", which made me think of how we humans sometimes want to be elsewhere or aspire to things, or think the grass is greener. That reinforced my interpretation of it being scenes of modern life.
Walking home I told Peter about all my theories and it was interesting to hear that he hadn't really tried to understand what it was about or interpret anything. He had just enjoyed the movement and the dancers' skills, the art form if you like. But he said that of course I could be right :)
I enjoyed the dancing too of course. I mean, this is one of the best ballets in the world and it's not just because of the modern choreography, etc. The way they moved their bodies and how they interacted with each other was amazing. There were several scenes, or parts of scenes, where they either worked with shadows on the back wall of the stage or had one dancer acting (dancing, I guess) the other person's shadow, which was pretty cool (well, the shadow dancer was not as good as she could have been but the idea was good). I also liked when in one of the scenes two or three people rolled on the floor and another one "walked" over them. It was syncronised so well so that it looked so natural, like floating. It's hard to explain it but hopefully you get an idea of what I mean.
We also loved the ceiling lamp that was the only decor on stage and we want to make a miniature copy for ourselves! I wish I could explain what it looked like...well, I'll try. It was like circles within circles and the circles moved so that sometimes all circles were aligned at the same level but most of the time the circles were all different and sometimes more up on the left side and sometimes on the right side. The lighting came in different colours and strength. We would obviously not be able to have an electronically controlled lamp but we could have cables or strings that we could adjust once in a while. Any lamp designers out there who can help us?!
The Cullberg Ballet is only in town this week so if you want to see them, you'd better hurry up! Tickets from Dansens hus or Ticnet.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Saturday Ponder
Was listening to "Forever Young" on the radio while I was baking some cookies earlier today and was struck by what it actually sings about - the prospects of nuclear war.
This made me think about other songs from the 1980s and early 1990s that had a clear political significance for that time in (albeit recent, but important part of) history. It doesn't feel like that there are any songs of that kind anymore, or? Maybe it's because we haven't had such a historic change in the world since then? There is of course a lot of important change, both negative and positive, for example as a result of globalisation and climate change, but maybe it's too much of a gradual change to generate songs of the same calibre so-to-speak? Or maybe there's just too much music in general these days so "political" songs go un-noticed? Or perhaps I just don't listen to the lyrics as much anymore?
In addition to "Forever Young" I was thinking of Scorpions "Winds of Change" (original video version here).
This made me think about other songs from the 1980s and early 1990s that had a clear political significance for that time in (albeit recent, but important part of) history. It doesn't feel like that there are any songs of that kind anymore, or? Maybe it's because we haven't had such a historic change in the world since then? There is of course a lot of important change, both negative and positive, for example as a result of globalisation and climate change, but maybe it's too much of a gradual change to generate songs of the same calibre so-to-speak? Or maybe there's just too much music in general these days so "political" songs go un-noticed? Or perhaps I just don't listen to the lyrics as much anymore?
In addition to "Forever Young" I was thinking of Scorpions "Winds of Change" (original video version here).
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Wednesday Recipe: Japanese Sauce
Anna's Japanese Sauce (for fish)*
4-6 servings
1½ tbsp sesame oil
1½ dl sugar
1½ dl water
1½ dl rice wine
3 dl Japanese soy sauce
2 dl rice vinegar
½ dl lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp ginger
Maizena (cornstarch) or flour
Just mix all the ingredients and you're all set. Goes very well with tuna (and probably salmon too) and mashed potatoes. We used some of it as a marinade as we like our tuna grilled and the rest of it as sauce. Yum!
* Well, it's not mine from the beginning - can't remember where I found it, whether it was in a cookbook or online - but after having recommended it to friends, it has now taken that name :)
4-6 servings
1½ tbsp sesame oil
1½ dl sugar
1½ dl water
1½ dl rice wine
3 dl Japanese soy sauce
2 dl rice vinegar
½ dl lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp ginger
Maizena (cornstarch) or flour
Just mix all the ingredients and you're all set. Goes very well with tuna (and probably salmon too) and mashed potatoes. We used some of it as a marinade as we like our tuna grilled and the rest of it as sauce. Yum!
* Well, it's not mine from the beginning - can't remember where I found it, whether it was in a cookbook or online - but after having recommended it to friends, it has now taken that name :)
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Recent Headlines
Good news
- - The EU bans pesticides (well, not all but a substantial number)
- - Obama ends Bush's ban on funding of abortions in the developing world
- - Obama starts tackling all other damage caused by Bush. Hopefully this will also be undone.
- - Ericsson freezes salaries - Ericsson has frozen its 200 top managers' salaries as the outlook for 2009 is uncertain and profits fell drastically last year. CEO Carl-Henrik Svanberg believes the company has survived well in the tough times but that it is unreasonable to think that the company would be unaffected by the economy in 2009. The company also wants to cut the workforce by 5,000, of which 1,000 are in Sweden and lower dividends to shareholders.
- - Sweden does well according to the Sustainable Society Index
Bad news
- - Swedish boards are still male-dominated
- - The World Bank still finances more fossil energy than renewables
- - Wall Street is still high on bonuses
Friday, January 30, 2009
Show & Tell: Find of the Month
As Petra also writes today this week's theme "månadens fynd" (the Show & Tell theme host this month has been Strandmamman) can be translated in two ways from Swedish to English; either as the bargain or the find of the month. I have chosen to interpret it as the find of the month because I want to show you the lamp we bought last weekend.
We've been looking for a ceiling lamp for our living room for quite a while and haven't been able to make up our mind (well, especially Peter as he's the most wavering person in the world!), but last Saturday we finally made a decision! And it wasn't necessarily a bargain so unfortunately I can't call it that. It's a pretty lamp - in my view - in goldish brown organza!
We've been looking for a ceiling lamp for our living room for quite a while and haven't been able to make up our mind (well, especially Peter as he's the most wavering person in the world!), but last Saturday we finally made a decision! And it wasn't necessarily a bargain so unfortunately I can't call it that. It's a pretty lamp - in my view - in goldish brown organza!
P.S. I'm still planning to write about my grandfather (last week's Show & Tell theme) as there is definitely a story to tell there, but not today!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday Recipe on a Thursday
Greek lasagne - 4 servings
Meat sauce
500 gr lamb or beef mince
1-2 yellow onions
olive oil for frying
1-2 garlic cloves
1 can of chopped tomatoes
Meat sauce
500 gr lamb or beef mince
1-2 yellow onions
olive oil for frying
1-2 garlic cloves
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1-2 tbsp tomato puré (according to taste)
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
Sauce
2 egg yokes
6 dl mild natural yoghurt
3 dl grated cheese
14 lasagne plates
Turn the oven to 200'C. Fry chopped onion and pressed garlic in the oil (or margarin) in a big frying pan. Add the mince and fry it until it's brown and crumbly. Add tomatoes, tomato puré salt and spices. Stir and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Mix egg yokes and yoghurt. Add the cheese and mix well. Layer meat sauce, lasagne plates and yoghurt sauce in a ovenproof pan. Finish with yoghurt sauce on the last layer of lasagne plates.
Bake in the lower part of the oven for 30 minutes.
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
Sauce
2 egg yokes
6 dl mild natural yoghurt
3 dl grated cheese
14 lasagne plates
Turn the oven to 200'C. Fry chopped onion and pressed garlic in the oil (or margarin) in a big frying pan. Add the mince and fry it until it's brown and crumbly. Add tomatoes, tomato puré salt and spices. Stir and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Mix egg yokes and yoghurt. Add the cheese and mix well. Layer meat sauce, lasagne plates and yoghurt sauce in a ovenproof pan. Finish with yoghurt sauce on the last layer of lasagne plates.
Bake in the lower part of the oven for 30 minutes.
Image from Hemmets Journal
Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
I use ClustrMaps to track where my visitors come from. Some of you I know - I read your blogs and/or you read mine. But some of you are "secret guests" and I'm so curious to find out who you are (unless you absolutely don't want to reveal yourself of course)!
I'm especially curious to know about the countries towards the end of the list, with one or two visitors!
Sweden - 229
United States - 132
United Kingdom - 35
Finland - 19
Norway - 10
Puerto Rico - 10 Petra, are you reading from 10 different computers?!
Egypt - 10
Italy - 9
Belgium - 9
Australia - 7
Netherlands - 5
Canada - 5
Denmark - 4
Turkey - 3
Greece - 3
India - 3
France - 2
Europe - 2 What countries are "Europe"??
Japan - 2
Malaysia - 2
Austria- 1
Slovakia - 1
Ireland - 1
Portugal - 1
Mexico - 1
Hong Kong - 1
Guam - 1
South Africa - 1
Argentina - 1
Taiwan - 1
United Arab Emirates - 1
Romania - 1
Spain - 1
Bermuda - 1
Israel - 1
Switzerland - 1
I'm especially curious to know about the countries towards the end of the list, with one or two visitors!
Sweden - 229
United States - 132
United Kingdom - 35
Finland - 19
Norway - 10
Puerto Rico - 10 Petra, are you reading from 10 different computers?!
Egypt - 10
Italy - 9
Belgium - 9
Australia - 7
Netherlands - 5
Canada - 5
Denmark - 4
Turkey - 3
Greece - 3
India - 3
France - 2
Europe - 2 What countries are "Europe"??
Japan - 2
Malaysia - 2
Austria- 1
Slovakia - 1
Ireland - 1
Portugal - 1
Mexico - 1
Hong Kong - 1
Guam - 1
South Africa - 1
Argentina - 1
Taiwan - 1
United Arab Emirates - 1
Romania - 1
Spain - 1
Bermuda - 1
Israel - 1
Switzerland - 1
Awarded
Skolfröken has surprised me with a very nice thing, an award in the category "you have a cute blog"! Her motivation, which I really like, is:
On Anna's blog you can read wise posts about world politics and feminism and be inspired with delicious recipes, watch funny videos and lots more. Moreover, Anna likes "West Wing".
I could pass on the award to so many people but as I have to choose one person I will choose Petra's blog, Petchie's Adventures, because she catches the reader with everything from beautiful pictures from Puerto Rico and stories of her everyday life on the island to recipes from her grandmother and travel packing advice (space bags). She also makes me want to live abroad again and even makes me long a little bit for Brussels (even though I didn't like that city very much when I lived there).
So, Petra, here's your award!
On Anna's blog you can read wise posts about world politics and feminism and be inspired with delicious recipes, watch funny videos and lots more. Moreover, Anna likes "West Wing".
I could pass on the award to so many people but as I have to choose one person I will choose Petra's blog, Petchie's Adventures, because she catches the reader with everything from beautiful pictures from Puerto Rico and stories of her everyday life on the island to recipes from her grandmother and travel packing advice (space bags). She also makes me want to live abroad again and even makes me long a little bit for Brussels (even though I didn't like that city very much when I lived there).
So, Petra, here's your award!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Creative Finances
Read something interesting in an old Economist (from September) about the financial system spiralling out of control:
American politicians have a lamentable record of intervening in setting [bank] executive pay. In the early years of the Clinton administration, Congress imposed a salary cap of $1m, beyond which firms faced a tax penalty. Pay rose, as one set of executives, beneath the cap, realised thay were 'underpaid' and another set gained from an outpouring of creativity, as consultants invented myriad option schemes, perks and pension benefits to get around the limit. This only made it harder for shareholders to know what was getting what.
I'm usually optimistic but when it comes to the financial crisis I think that unfortunately, once this recession is over and we're back to happy days again, those finance guys (the same or new ones) are going to grease the same old wheel again.
American politicians have a lamentable record of intervening in setting [bank] executive pay. In the early years of the Clinton administration, Congress imposed a salary cap of $1m, beyond which firms faced a tax penalty. Pay rose, as one set of executives, beneath the cap, realised thay were 'underpaid' and another set gained from an outpouring of creativity, as consultants invented myriad option schemes, perks and pension benefits to get around the limit. This only made it harder for shareholders to know what was getting what.
I'm usually optimistic but when it comes to the financial crisis I think that unfortunately, once this recession is over and we're back to happy days again, those finance guys (the same or new ones) are going to grease the same old wheel again.
Mr Boss
Continuing on the gender equality topic...
Read a report from the (Swedish) Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU), which concluded "dads become bosses - not mums". According to their research, when men become fathers their chances of getting a managerial position increase while the mothers' chances do not change. In other words, the family situation affects men and women differently. Men and women without children have equal chances of becoming manager, but as soon as parenthood enters the equation things change.
One reason for this is that fathers maintain a stronger link to the workplace than mothers after they have become parents. But the correlation is also there when other factors have been taken into account; working hours, education, civil status (i.e. married or not) and whether the person works in the private or the public sector. The study is the first one that has showed a clear correlation between change in people's family situation and change in their management responsibility.
I think this report just goes to show that even if we have the best parental leave provision in the world, it can also be bad for women. As long as parents do not split the leave more evenly, employers will see women as more of "risk" and not promote them in the same extent as they would men. And in a way I understand them. If you are an employer and you are choosing between promoting a man and a woman who are equally good at their job, as ambitious, etc., but you know that the woman will stay home for a year once or twice or maybe more times and also perhaps take more of the responsibility when it comes to caring for a sick child (so-called VAB or temporary parental benefit), then it is natural to opt for the man. Sorry you women out there who take long parental leave, but it's true. And perhaps you do not mind, this is a sacrifice you are personally willing to make, but unfortunately your actions affect all women, women as group. This means it cannot be a choice for the individual or the individual family.
So, the only way to even start changing this situation is to split the parental leave allowance 50-50 between women and men. The leave entitlement is so generous anyway, 13 months (and longer if you count the 90 guarantee days paid at a much lower rate, but paid). That is minimum 6½ months per parents, and 8 months per parent if you include the guarantee days. Compare that to 2-3 months, often unpaid, leave in most other countries, and for just one parent. And the argument "but we can't afford that, my husband earns more", etc. is not a valid argument. Yes, it costs money to have children. If you did not know what you should not have had them in the first place. And in terms of the second argument, yes, then we have to go into reasons why many women earn less than men in the first place...
So, 50-50 by law is the only way to go! Now (today literally) even the usually conservative Moderate party is talking about earmarking more months to the father in the name of gender equality so maybe it is not such an unrealistic idea anymore.
Some facts
Despite the fact that Sweden is one of the world's most gender equal countries women are still very underrepresented in managerial positions. Over the last 30 years the share of bosses among female employees has increased from 15% to 20% while the share for men has been around 30% over the same time period.
Managerial positions are defined as jobs with leadership functions, i.e. that the individual has subordinates.
Read a report from the (Swedish) Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU), which concluded "dads become bosses - not mums". According to their research, when men become fathers their chances of getting a managerial position increase while the mothers' chances do not change. In other words, the family situation affects men and women differently. Men and women without children have equal chances of becoming manager, but as soon as parenthood enters the equation things change.
One reason for this is that fathers maintain a stronger link to the workplace than mothers after they have become parents. But the correlation is also there when other factors have been taken into account; working hours, education, civil status (i.e. married or not) and whether the person works in the private or the public sector. The study is the first one that has showed a clear correlation between change in people's family situation and change in their management responsibility.
I think this report just goes to show that even if we have the best parental leave provision in the world, it can also be bad for women. As long as parents do not split the leave more evenly, employers will see women as more of "risk" and not promote them in the same extent as they would men. And in a way I understand them. If you are an employer and you are choosing between promoting a man and a woman who are equally good at their job, as ambitious, etc., but you know that the woman will stay home for a year once or twice or maybe more times and also perhaps take more of the responsibility when it comes to caring for a sick child (so-called VAB or temporary parental benefit), then it is natural to opt for the man. Sorry you women out there who take long parental leave, but it's true. And perhaps you do not mind, this is a sacrifice you are personally willing to make, but unfortunately your actions affect all women, women as group. This means it cannot be a choice for the individual or the individual family.
So, the only way to even start changing this situation is to split the parental leave allowance 50-50 between women and men. The leave entitlement is so generous anyway, 13 months (and longer if you count the 90 guarantee days paid at a much lower rate, but paid). That is minimum 6½ months per parents, and 8 months per parent if you include the guarantee days. Compare that to 2-3 months, often unpaid, leave in most other countries, and for just one parent. And the argument "but we can't afford that, my husband earns more", etc. is not a valid argument. Yes, it costs money to have children. If you did not know what you should not have had them in the first place. And in terms of the second argument, yes, then we have to go into reasons why many women earn less than men in the first place...
So, 50-50 by law is the only way to go! Now (today literally) even the usually conservative Moderate party is talking about earmarking more months to the father in the name of gender equality so maybe it is not such an unrealistic idea anymore.
Some facts
Despite the fact that Sweden is one of the world's most gender equal countries women are still very underrepresented in managerial positions. Over the last 30 years the share of bosses among female employees has increased from 15% to 20% while the share for men has been around 30% over the same time period.
Managerial positions are defined as jobs with leadership functions, i.e. that the individual has subordinates.
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