Burundi-born Nyamko Sabuni, in charge of gender equality and integration in the centre-right government that took office last October, said she was "sceptical" of setting quotas for women on corporate boards as has been launched in neighbouring Norway.

At a news briefing she said that, while quotas were not on the cards, it "was troublesome that management in many companies lack women executives."

Hurdles that prevent women from accepting top positions include, "male networks, that women say no when asked to accept top jobs since they can't cope (with both the executive job and family responsibilities) and that women don't get the offers," she said.

The government plans, as of July, to cut taxes on domestic services to allow more people to afford to pay for cleaning, shopping and other household chores.

The system is aimed at reducing the pressure on time-squeezed families, supporters of the system said.

The proposal has been discussed for several years as a means of creating jobs and collecting tax revenue from a sector where many work illegally.

The Swedish government has eyed neighbouring Finland's model.

Sabuni, a member of the Liberal Party, one of three junior partners in the four-party coalition, said she would also work to abolish the practice of "forced marriage" among some of Sweden's minority immigrant groups.

It was "unacceptable that young men and women in the 21st century were not allowed to marry the person of their own choice," Sabuni said, adding that a government agency had been charged to conduct a survey to get some indication of the extent of the problem.

On refugees and immigration, Sabuni said that just like Sweden has recently asked other members of the European Union to share the burden of receiving refugees from Iraq, the government was trying to convince more municipalities to sign agreements with the Swedish Migration Board to accept more refugees even though "most did."

Last year, 9,065 Iraqis applied for asylum in Sweden compared to 2,330 in 2005, and the Swedish Migration Board has said it expected the number of refugees from Iraq to double this year.