The best countries for working women

If you’re thinking about moving abroad, consider Scandinavia.

The Economist last week revealed its “glass-ceiling index,”which uses metrics like education levels, wages and paid maternity leave to determine where in the world women are most likely to receive equal treatment at work.

Nordic nations led the index overall, with Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland as clear winners across the board. In Norway, women get an impressive 45.5 weeks of paid maternity leave, and Iceland’s parliment is over 40 percent female.

The United States came in 19th place, just below theOECD average. We receive a pitiful zero weeks of maternity leave, and there’s a 17.5 percent difference in the gender wage gap, as compared to 6.3 percent in Norway.

So how best to combat inequality, besides commissioning Dolly Parton to write a song about it or moving to Sweden and opening a funiture company?

Emily Meithner, Founder and CEO of FindSpark.com, suggests ways that women can deal with double-stardards and inequality in the workplace:

Be proactive: “Approach potential mentors at your job. Show genuine interest in the work of others at the company, inside and outside of your department, and you’ll have more people who will support your ideas and growth.”

Be observant: “Take notice of how different colleagues perceive your actions and work style. You can adjust how you articulate your ideas depending on who you’re working with, in the same way leaders adjust their management style based on who they are working with.”

Be flexible: “Make adjustments in your delivery based on who you’re speaking with, but don’t ever compromise your ideas or speaking up in the first place for fear of being seen as too assertive.”

Alternately, it might be time to take a sledgehammer to that glass ceiling.

BEST COUNTRIES FOR WORKING WOMEN