According to the Department of Labor, in 2005, about 60 percent of U.S. women age 16 and older were in the workforce, compared to 46 percent in 1975. Some U.S. employers offer alternative work arrangements to help workers manage both work and other life responsibilities. One type of alternative work arrangement allows workers to reduce their work hours from the traditional 40 hours per week, such as with part-time work or job sharing. Some arrangements adopted by employers, such as flextime, allow employees to begin and end their workday outside the traditional 9-to-5 work hours. Other arrangements, such as telecommuting from home, allow employees to work in an alternative location. Childcare facilities are also available at some workplaces to help workers with their care giving responsibilities. In addition to benefiting workers, these arrangements may also benefit employers by helping them recruit and retain workers. Federal law establishes minimum levels of unpaid leave for individuals under certain circumstances. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 enables certain employees to take up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for qualifying family members or themselves in the event of a serious health condition with the guarantee of a similar job upon return. The law applies to private companies with 50 or more employees, and all federal, state, and local government agencies. To be eligible for leave, employees seeking leave must have worked for their employer for at least 1 year and for over 1,250 hours during the last year. Some state laws provide greater family or medical leave rights than the federal law. In July 2004, California became the first state in the country to offer a comprehensive paid family leave program. The program allows workers to receive up to 6 weeks per year of partial wage replacement for leave taken to care for a seriously ill family member (child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner) or to care for a child within 1 year of birth or placement for adoption or foster care. The program, which is administered by the State Disability Insurance (SDI) system, is funded entirely by employee contributions. The paid family leave law requires a 1-week waiting period and applies to all employees who pay into the SDI system, regardless of employer size. In May 2007, Washington state enacted paid family leave legislation that grants up to 5 weeks of paid leave a year to certain employees to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. The federal government also provides childcare subsidies for certain low- income families, and tax breaks for most parents, both to support their ability to work and to balance work-family responsibilities. Under programs funded by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state resources, states have the flexibility to serve certain types of low-income families. The Head Start program provides comprehensive early childhood education and development services to low-income preschool children, on a part- or full-day basis. Further, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit allows parents to reduce their tax on their federal income tax return if they paid someone to care for a child under age 13 or a qualifying spouse or dependent so they could work or look for work. The credit is a percentage of the amount of work-related child and dependent care expenses paid to a care provider. The credit can be up to 35 percent of qualifying expenses, depending upon income. The federal government also offers workforce development and training programs designed to assist low-wage/low-skilled workers in the United States. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) requires states and localities to bring together a number of federally funded employment and training services into a single system—the one-stop system. Funded through four federal agencies and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, these programs provide services through a statewide network of one-stop career centers. Low-skilled workers and dislocated workers can choose the training they determine best for themselves, working in consultation with a case manager. Additionally, the federal government provides incentives for companies to hire low-income workers, public assistance recipients, and workers with disabilities. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is a federal tax credit that offers employers tax breaks when they hire certain categories of job seekers, including TANF recipients. The credit is designed to help people move from welfare to work and gain on- the-job experience. Additionally, the Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WtWTC) is a federal income tax credit that encourages employers to hire long-term TANF Assistance recipients. Most of the countries we studied are members of the European Union (EU); as such, they need to take EU laws into account when formulating their policies. EU legislation on employment-related issues typically provides minimum standards or basic rights for individuals across member states. For example, the 1997 directive on equal treatment of part-time work mandates that people holding less than full-time jobs be given pro rated pay and benefits without discrimination. EU directives are generally binding in terms of the results to be achieved, but an opt-out option occasionally allows member states to delay action. According to an EU official, the Union also sets targets to be achieved voluntarily at some future date. Since 2000, for example, member states have collectively agreed to increase the number of women in employment, the number of adults in lifelong learning, and the provision of childcare by the end of the decade. The EU offers financial support to its member states to help them succeed in employment goals. For example, countries can request money from the European Social Fund (ESF) for public or private programs that improve people’s skills and employability. Other differences are relevant to consideration of the workforce attachment policies of our study countries. Although U.S. women have high levels of educational attainment, their workforce participation, in general, is lower than that of the countries we studied. In 2004, the educational attainment of women ages 25-64 in the United States, at 13.4 years, surpassed that of women in all other study countries (see app. II, table 4). While a higher education level is generally associated with greater likelihood of labor force participation, labor force participation for U.S. women is lower than that in any of our study countries except Ireland and New Zealand. For example, in Denmark, labor force participation was 85 percent, compared to 75 percent in the United States, and 68 percent in Ireland. In the Netherlands, a country where 36 percent of all employment is part-time, women constitute more than three-quarters of employees working less than 30 hours per week (see table 1). Differences in taxation across countries reflect national choices, which are largely determined by economic and social priorities. The ratio of total tax revenues to gross domestic product (GDP) is a commonly used measure of state involvement in national economies. Countries with high tax-to-GDP ratios generally pay more from the public budget for services that citizens would have to pay for themselves—or do without—in lower-taxed countries. In 2004, Sweden had the highest tax revenue as a percentage of GDP among our study countries, at 50.4 percent. Denmark came next at 48.8 percent, followed by France at 43.4 percent. The United States had the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio in 2004, at 25.5 percent (see table 2). Governments and employers in the countries we studied developed a variety of laws, government policies, and formal and informal practices, including periods of leave, flexible work schedules, childcare, and training. Each of the countries we reviewed has some form of paid family leave, such as maternity, paternity, or parental leave, that attempts to balance the needs of employers and employees and, often, attempts to help women and low-wage/low-skilled workers enter and remain in the workforce. In addition to family leave for parents, countries provide other types of leave, and have established workplace flexibility arrangements for workers. All of the countries also subsidize childcare for some working parents through a variety of means, such as direct benefits to parents for childcare and tax credits. Last, governments and employers have a range of training and apprenticeship programs to help unemployed people find jobs and to help those already in the workforce advance in their careers. Many countries have developed and funded parental leave policies to assist employees in combining their work and family lives, recognizing, in part, the need to promote women’s participation in the labor force. A 1996 directive of the European Council requires all countries in the EU— including each of the European countries we reviewed—to introduce legislation on parental leave that would provide all working parents the right to care for their newborn or newly adopted child for at least 3 months while retaining a position of equal status, recommending that benefits be paid during that time. In the U.S., the FMLA allows eligible employees approximately 3 months of unpaid leave that may be used for these purposes. (For an overview of the policies in our study countries, see app. III.) Family leave policies in the countries we studied were generally funded through tax revenues and general revenues. Because some of these countries are social welfare states, their tax revenues represent a greater share of their GDP, allowing for the funding of various policies. For example, Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands fund paid leave policies in part through national insurance programs, which use payroll taxes paid by employers and employees. Denmark’s paid maternity, paternity, and parental leaves are financed by income tax revenues through an 8 percent tax on all earned income. Eligibility provisions are a part of most leave policies we reviewed, and sometimes the service time with an employer determines the amount of leave a parent can take. Many national leave policies in our study countries require employees to work for a period of time before they can take leave, giving employers assurances that employees are committed to their jobs.