Gordon Brown has looked at the social mobility utopia that is Scandinavia and noticed one startling difference between them and us. Childcare there is universal and heavily subsidised so that all children, rich or poor, share the same kindergartens once their mothers go back to work after a year or so of maternity leave. And all mothers do go back to work. There is virtually no difference in employment rates between men and women in Denmark, for example, and it is considered bizarre to care for children full-time. Many experts think that, instead of counting back from school age with nursery subsidies, Mr Brown should start at the other end and help women to stay in the labour market once they start a family.
The Times