年長女性仍可馳騁職場

Why? The traditional answer is discrimination. The Pew report said prejudice still played some part, although it was hard to quantify. There are, no doubt, still nomination committees that secretly believe women cannot hack it, just as there must be some top executives who are still quietly racist and homophobic.
這是為什么呢？慣常的答案是：性別歧視。佩尤的報告稱，偏見仍具有一定影響，盡管它難以量化。毫無疑問，一些公司的董事任命委員會私下里依然認為，女性難成大事，就像肯定會有一些最高層管理者私下里依然是種族主義者并且憎惡同性戀一樣。
　　
But that cannot be the whole answer. Attitudes have shifted. Can employers really be that much more sexist than university admission officers?
但這不可能是全部答案。人們的態(tài)度已經(jīng)有所轉(zhuǎn)變。雇主真的比大學招生辦還重男輕女嗎？
　　
The UK inequality study contains a telling detail. There is still a significant pay gap between men and women – 21 per cent – but for women in their 20s, the difference is only 6-7 per cent.
英國兩性差異報告提到了一個具有說服力的細節(jié)。男女之間仍存在巨大的薪酬差距（高達21%），但對20歲出頭的女性來說，這一差距卻只有6-7%。
　　
Why does the gap then grow? Because of the pram in the hall. “While it is not the only factor, women's pay relative to men's declines not just at the moment of first becoming a mother, but through most of the first child's childhood,” the report said. Mothers work less and stay away from the long-hours tasks that win promotion.
那么，薪酬差距為什么會擴大？原因在于門廳里的嬰兒車?！半m然這不是唯一的因素，但是，女性薪酬相對男性薪酬的下降，不僅發(fā)生在她們剛當上媽媽的時候，而且貫穿第一個孩子童年的大部分時間，”報告稱。媽媽們工作減少，不再接手耗時長久的任務(wù)，也就少了晉升的機會。
　　
There have been attempts to keep mothers' careers on track. The UK government announced last week that it planned to allow mothers to transfer the last six months of their maternity leave to the father, with three months of that paid.
有關(guān)方面已采取了一些措施，力求讓媽媽們的職業(yè)生涯不致偏離軌道。英國政府上周宣布，擬允許媽媽們把產(chǎn)假最后6個月轉(zhuǎn)移給當父親的，其中3個月為帶薪假期。
　　
Allen & Overy said recently that partners would be allowed to work four-day weeks and take longer holidays, following other leading London law firms such as Freshfields and Linklaters.
安理律師事務(wù)所近日表示，將允許合伙人一周工作4天并休更長時間的假。倫敦一些知名律所均已開始推行此項制度，如富而德律師事務(wù)所和年利達律師事務(wù)所。
　　
But there must be some doubt how effective these initiatives will be. The UK government has assured businesses that it expects fewer than 6 per cent of new fathers to take advantage of the additional paternity leave.
但對于這些措施有多大效果，人們肯定存在一些疑慮。英國政府表示，預計只有不到6%的新爸爸會利用這項新的陪產(chǎn)假，以此安撫企業(yè)界。
　　
While the lawyers' initiatives are, no doubt, sincerely meant, Louise Ashley and Janet Gaymer of Cass Business School, who have researched the impact, say the cultures of top firms do not easily lend themselves to flexible working. Clients demand instant answers and all-night sessions. One female lawyer told Ms Ashley: “The women I see who are cracking it as a partner have made that their whole lives.”
雖然上述律所推行這些措施本意良好，但卡斯商學院的路易斯?阿什利和珍妮特?蓋馬爾在研究了這些舉措的作用后表示，頂尖公司拘泥于自身文化，不易實行靈活的工作制度?？蛻粢竽汶S時待命、通宵工作。一位女律師告訴阿什利：“那些經(jīng)過刻苦努力當上合伙人的女性，已經(jīng)把這視作她們生命的全部。”
　　
This is the crux of it: no one, male or female, gets to the top of anything without neglecting friends and family. It is as true of reaching the chief executive suite as it is of winning an Olympic gold medal.
這正是問題的癥結(jié)所在：不管是男性是女性，沒有人能夠在不忽視朋友和家人的情況下攀上頂峰——無論你是要爬上首席執(zhí)行官的位子，還是要奪取奧運金牌。
　　
That does not mean nothing should change. Working lives no longer finish at 50, or even 60. By the time children have grown up, those highly-educated mothers still have a good few decades in them. Where are the companies smart enough to spot the opportunity?
這并不是說，我們沒什么可以改變的。職業(yè)生涯不應再在50歲、甚至60歲終結(jié)。當孩子長大成人后，受過較高教育的媽媽們依然可以再干上好幾十年。哪些足夠聰明的公司能夠發(fā)現(xiàn)這一機會呢？