This paper investigates whether there is a glass ceiling in Sweden, focusing on the gender log wage gap. Using data from 1998, the authors find that the gender gap increases throughout the wage distribution, with a sharp acceleration in the upper tail, which they interpret as evidence of a glass ceiling. This pattern was also observed in the early 1990s but not in the earlier decades. The gender gap between immigrants and non-immigrants in Sweden is constant across the wage distribution, suggesting that the glass ceiling effect is gender-specific. In contrast, the U.S. gender gap does not show a similar pattern, and the Swedish gender gap at the top of the wage distribution is larger than in the U.S., despite a larger average gender gap in the U.S. The authors use quantile regression to examine whether the gender gap can be attributed to differences in labor market characteristics or differences in the rewards for these characteristics. They find that gender differences in the returns to labor market characteristics are the more important factor. The results show that even after controlling for various factors such as age, education, sector, and industry, the glass ceiling effect persists, indicating that gender-specific mechanisms in the Swedish labor market hinder women from reaching the top of the wage distribution. The paper also examines the wage gaps for different cohorts and finds that the gender gap increases at the top of the wage distribution, which is attributed to differences in the returns to labor market characteristics rather than differences in characteristics themselves. The authors conclude that the glass ceiling effect is more pronounced in Sweden than in the U.S., and that it is specifically related to gender rather than a general labor market phenomenon. The findings suggest that gender-specific mechanisms in the Swedish labor market hinder women from reaching the top of the wage distribution.This paper investigates whether there is a glass ceiling in Sweden, focusing on the gender log wage gap. Using data from 1998, the authors find that the gender gap increases throughout the wage distribution, with a sharp acceleration in the upper tail, which they interpret as evidence of a glass ceiling. This pattern was also observed in the early 1990s but not in the earlier decades. The gender gap between immigrants and non-immigrants in Sweden is constant across the wage distribution, suggesting that the glass ceiling effect is gender-specific. In contrast, the U.S. gender gap does not show a similar pattern, and the Swedish gender gap at the top of the wage distribution is larger than in the U.S., despite a larger average gender gap in the U.S. The authors use quantile regression to examine whether the gender gap can be attributed to differences in labor market characteristics or differences in the rewards for these characteristics. They find that gender differences in the returns to labor market characteristics are the more important factor. The results show that even after controlling for various factors such as age, education, sector, and industry, the glass ceiling effect persists, indicating that gender-specific mechanisms in the Swedish labor market hinder women from reaching the top of the wage distribution. The paper also examines the wage gaps for different cohorts and finds that the gender gap increases at the top of the wage distribution, which is attributed to differences in the returns to labor market characteristics rather than differences in characteristics themselves. The authors conclude that the glass ceiling effect is more pronounced in Sweden than in the U.S., and that it is specifically related to gender rather than a general labor market phenomenon. The findings suggest that gender-specific mechanisms in the Swedish labor market hinder women from reaching the top of the wage distribution.