"Culture" doesn't really explain anything though. It is sort of an empty explanation for anything and nothing. One has to actually get into the details, which is what I am trying to do here.
I am looking at the concrete differences in systems that exist in each country. The US actually had stronger vocational training system which they largely abandoned. One cannot blame that on "culture." That is a very deliberate choice about how to go about education.
It is relevant to understand why the concrete differences exist. E.g. why would an American roughneck do a simpler and more physically demanding job than the Norwegian equivalent? Well, what I explain here is that all blue collar jobs in Norway go through a more elaborate educational system. Just showing up at a place an learning at work isn't a thing.
Certificates play a more significant role in the Nordic reagion. A higher level of minimal skill is required for most jobs.
The US has made a very different focus, trying to emphasize higher education and treating blue collar jobs as undersirable jobs for brainless monkeys. The low status given to blue collar jobs is part of the problem.
These are very much choices made at the political level. The US as a consequence has long had one of the highest number of people in higher education but has fallen behind in skills within the blue collar workforce.
This isn't merely down to diversity or homogenity but about attitudes among elites. I have spoken to many people that belong to the upper middle class with good jobs and high skill. There is a general disdain for the working class. A view that it is for suckers who couldn't do better at school. Or that blue collar skills isn't of any real value in production.
None of this is really about a competition. I didn't write any of this to go "Look how awesome we are in the Nordics compared to the US." I wrote it primarily to inspire those who care about gener equality.
It is about giving some ideas of how society could be modified to accomodate a wider diversity of people. There is a certain irony in a country priding itself on diversity, is doing things in ways which encourage a very homogenous work place.
