a falling but persistent net ie unexplained wage gap of about in favour of men coupled with underrepresentation of women as managers and entrepreneurs further reduce the incentive for women to take full advantage of their high levels of human capital priority should be given to removing those barriers by increasing public spending on childcare and outofschoolhours care at the cantonal and municipal levels existing regulations regarding childcare provision should also be investigated to see whether a broader range of price and quality childcare options is feasible