I stated the point in the beginning of the paragraph in which I cited the statistics:

> Counterintuitively, America’s lack of a generous welfare system tends to destabilize traditional gender roles.

That traditional gender roles are good for society

Gender roles are driven by more than just religion or tradition. It's not clear that they're good for society (if anything, open societies which don't coercively enforce these norms tend to be more creative and innovative) but what they are is good enough for the many, many people, including women (might even be a majority) who prefer them. Any ideal of freedom of choice for all genders should absolutely include these 'old-fashioned' choices.

I suspect it’s a coupled system—tradition and religion both shape and reflect preferences. I think it’s bad for society when women have gender roles forced on them. But I think it’s also possible—especially for the self-selecting group of highly educated people who tend to think and write about these issues—to overlook how many women would simply rather take care of their kids, at least while they’re young, compared to the work they’re qualified to do.