Families and work 家庭和工作，性別鴻溝仍待跨越

Families and work

家庭和工作

Having it all

兼而有之

The gender gap that still needs to be closed

性別鴻溝仍待跨越

Making it easier to combine family and work would help both men and women

讓兼顧家庭和工作變得簡單對男對女都是好事

Oct 7th 2017

THEY 「do the same work, are exempt from no rules or duties, and most of them have fathers, mothers, sisters or brothers dependent upon them. Why, then, should women not receive the same salaries?」 This question was asked in a circular sent by equal-pay suffragettes to female teachers in New York』s public schools in 1905. At the time, teachers』 starting annual salaries were set at $900 for men and $600 for women.

他們「做著同樣的工作，沒有免於任何規定和職責，他們中的大多數還有父親、母親、姐妹或者兄弟要養，為什麼女性就不能獲得和男性一樣的工資呢？」1905年，倡導男女同工同酬的婦女參政權論人士以傳單的形式向紐約公立學校的女教師發出了這樣的疑問。彼時，男教師的起薪是900美元每年，而女教師則是600美元每年。

In most rich countries such outright discrimination is history. A woman doing the same job for the same employer earns 98 cents to the dollar paid to a man. Yet the gender pay gap persists. In the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, the median full-time wage for women is 85% of that for men.

在大多數發達國家，這種赤裸裸的歧視由來已久。為同一個僱主打工、做著同樣工作的女員工拿著98美分的報酬，而男員工卻有100美元。時至今日，這種性別差異下的薪酬差異仍然存在。在由多數發達國家組成的經濟合作與發展組織（OECD）中，女性的平均全職工作薪酬大約是男性的85％。

Women earn less than men because their careers differ in two ways (see page 58). The occupations that many opt for, such as teaching and nursing, are less lucrative than those chosen by men, perhaps because of the long history of putting less value on women』s work. And women pay a high price for motherhood. They often miss a first promotion because they are on maternity leave. Later they take less demanding jobs with poor prospects. Often they are overqualified for their new role, but somebody has to pick the kids up from school.

女性賺得比男性少，因為兩性的職業生涯從兩個角度看迥然有別（詳見本報第58頁）。像教師和護理這類很多女性傾向選擇的工作相比很多男性的選擇來說，利潤更低。而且女性在母親這個角色上會花費很大的代價，她們往往因為休產假而喪失第一次職場晉陞的機會，再往後則會從事要求更低、前途更窄的工作。有時候，這些女性的資歷會超出她們的職場新身份，但是總得有人去學校接孩子吧。

It is not the place of governments to tell young people what careers to pursue, nor to tell parents how to divide their responsibilities. But the underuse of women』s skills is a waste for individual women and society alike. The consequences are particularly painful if a couple later breaks up.

政府並不需要告訴年輕人應該追求什麼職業，同樣的，告訴家長應該如何分配各自的家庭責任也不屬於政府的分內事。但是女性技能沒有被充分利用，無論對於女性個人還是社會來說都是浪費。如果男女夫妻最後分道揚鑣了，這種浪費的後果尤其慘痛。

The careers men and women want are more similar than the careers they end up in. Women are as ambitious as men. They are more likely than men to go to university, and equally likely to ask for promotion. Young men are much less likely than their fathers to see themselves solely as breadwinners. Many want to play a big part in their children』s upbringing.

職場男女的所需所想相比他們最後的職場現狀來說，要相似得多。女性和男性一樣心懷抱負。她們要比男性更有可能進入大學學習，也同樣渴望職業晉陞。而且，很多年輕男性和他們的父輩不一樣，不太可能只把自己看作單純的養家糊口的人，很多男性希望自己在養育小孩中發揮大作用。

Helping both sexes fulfil their aspirations is more complicated than passing an equal-pay law. Fortunately, it does not require social engineering or the sort of costly special treatment for working mothers that put some employers off hiring or promoting young women in the first place.

幫助兩性實現各自的職業抱負並不僅僅是通過一份同工同酬的法案那麼簡單。不過好在這並不需要對職場母親動用社會工程或者施予某種高價的特殊待遇，比如停招員工，或者優先提拔年輕女性。

The first step is well-designed parental leave. In America, the only rich country with no such entitlement for new mothers, many of them drop out of the labour force. Unless some leave is reserved for fathers, as in Norway and Sweden, couples tend to opt for the mother, who has stayed home after the birth, to take all of it—especially if the father is older, and thus more senior and highly paid. That seemingly small, commonsense decision sets a pattern that can last a lifetime.

第一步，需要設計精良的育嬰假。在美國這樣唯一一個對新晉母親沒有提供這種福利的發達國家，很多女性會選擇離開職場。除非像挪威、瑞典一樣，對新晉父親也提供陪產假，否則夫妻間往往是原本已經產後休養的妻子選擇繼續留在家中－如果丈夫年齡更長、職位更高、薪資更好，更是如此。這種看起來微不足道、合乎常理的決定設定了男女的餘生模式。

Next comes high-quality pre-school care. Then the school day and the timing of school holidays should be adapted to suit working parents and extended with after-school and holiday activities (no silly rules such as sending children home for lunch, as in Switzerland).

第二步，需要高質量的學前教育。在校和離校假期的日程都應該適應職場父母的時間，而且還需要額外的課外和假期活動（但不是像瑞士那樣放孩子們回家吃午飯的愚蠢規定）。

Many of these policies cost money. But they offer high returns. Paternity leave has been shown to make a father more engaged throughout his children』s upbringing, helping them to thrive. Early-years education sets toddlers up to do well at school. And women whose careers have not been derailed by motherhood will pay higher taxes later. They will also be less likely to need state support in old age, or if they divorce.

施行這些政策需要花錢，但是它們會帶來高回報。陪產假已經證實了可以讓父親更融入自己孩子的養育過程，幫助孩子們更好地成長。早教也會讓學步幼兒在學校里表現更佳。而沒有因為生育而脫離職場軌道的母親也會在今後納稅更多，她們年老或離婚時需要國家資助的可能性也更低。

Balancing act

權衡利弊

For their own sakes, employers should stop writing off mothers who have spent time out of the workforce, on the outdated assumption that a career break signals a lack of ambition. Above all, they would benefit from offering more flexibility to all their employees. Where staff have the right to ask for this, men are rejected more often than women. But only if men can combine family and work will women be able to do so, too.

就算僱主為自己著想，也不應該將暫離崗位的母親拒之門外，職場中斷即意味著缺乏職業理想的臆斷已經過時了。重要的是，老闆們給所有員工更多靈活性，受益的其實是自己。當員工有權利提出請求時，其實男性相比女性更有可能被拒絕。但是只要男性可以平衡家庭和工作，女性也一定可以。