Just look at the gap between male and female employment rates in America, Japan and western Europe, as Kevin Daly, an economist at Goldman Sachs, does in a recent study (see the left-hand chart).

Some recipients, such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Corp., have since repaid the money.

The stock was up 2 percent at $347.44 as a number of brokerages including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill, raised their price targets on the stock.