For Women Only: Top Reasons to Live in Sweden

I’m not a hardcore feminist, really, but I have to thank my former professor, V.A. Teodosio of SOLAIR for showing me (and the rest of the class) the importance of understanding women’s rights.

But this is not about her or me. This is a celebration of the great opportunities provided for women in Sweden, where they are judged for their smarts and not for their gender. I’m not even familiar with the country’s culture, economy or social conditions (except I’ve read that the lifestyle is pretty expensive), yet I’d give anything to live my next life there. For now, I can dream of at least immigrating…

Here’s a list (in no particular order) of top reasons for women to live in Sweden.
Source: The World's Best Country for Women by Abigail Haworth at MSN Lifestyle

1. Female politicians make up around half of the Swedish parliament.
2. "Anti-Sexism Awareness Training" begins in kindergarten, where male toddlers are encouraged to play with dolls, and females with toy tractors.
3. In school, classes in cooking, sewing, metalworking, and woodworking are compulsory for both sexes
4. Women are free from traditional roles; there is no pressure to choose between a high-profile job and a happy home life or even give up being feminine.
5. Few Swedish men expect women to be domestic or subservient.
6. Swedish men do more housework than men anywhere else — an average of 24 hours per week.
7. Nearly one in three police officers in Stockholm is a woman, and female recruits now outnumber men at some police training academies. Stockholm's chief of police is a woman who uses psychology and negotiation in most cases but is not afraid to use brute force. Crime has dropped by 9 percent under her leadership.
8. Women are accepted as aggressors in relationships. There is also no stigma against women who've had many sexual partners.
9. Sweden has generous laws on parental leave. Swedish couples — women and men — get 13 months paid leave and another three months at a fixed rate. Of that, 60 days must be taken by the mother, another 60 by the father, and the rest can be divided however they choose. Employers must hold a new mother's job for her for the duration of her maternity leave.
10. Women's sports are given as much TV airtime as men's.
11. In shopping malls, pay-to-pee public toilets are often unisex to minimize those infamously long lines for women's bathrooms.
12. There are innovations such as the world's first "female-friendly car," unveiled in 2004 by Swedish auto giant Volvo. Created by an all-female lead team, the car is packed with woman-specific features: seats that auto-adjust to a female body shape, a special groove in the headrest for ponytails, and a high-heel rest near the foot pedals.

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More than having to pay equally with men during dates, or performing conventional courtesies like holding a door open or helping a women carry heavy stuff, these are concrete demonstrations women rewarded for being themselves. I had a glimpse of Sweden when I was an undergraduate in UP. Most guys (my friends, especially) did not believe in traditional gender roles and accepted girls as equals. I was a bit culture shocked when I left for work in the public sector. Where I work, men did perform conventional courtesies, especially for the more attractive women. Such perks are never enough for a woman who wants to be a top official in a very male dominated workplace. I’d like to see me and my female co-worker friends reaching the top someday, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’d have to break the glass ceiling the hard way in order to do that.

“Japanese women live longer, American women earn higher salaries, Greek women have lower rates of breast cancer, and according to one poll, Italian men are better kissers.” Even so... I’d still grab a chance to live a Scandinavian woman’s life... especially if it can be done right where I’m working.