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Bye-Bye, Biased Wages 拜拜!偏心的薪水袋

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

Nowadays in the developed world, women are as highly educated as their male counterparts and comprise nearly half the workforce. Oddly enough, though, the wages of men and women tend to differ. In fact, on average, a woman’s salary is 25 percent lower than that of a man.

在今日已开发的世界中，女性跟男性一样受高等教育，占了职场上近一半的人口。然而，奇怪的是，两性的薪资还是有别。事实上，女性的薪水平均要比男性低了百分之二十五。

By any standards of fair play, this is wrong. It’s a little like having a race where half the participants have a weight attached to one leg. If this were the Olympics, we’d all be standing on our chairs demanding the resignation of the Olympic Committee. How is it possible, then, that such a blaring injustice in the workforce still exists in modern times?

从公平待遇的标准来看，这都是不应该的。这有点像举办一场比赛，但有一半的参赛者脚上必须绑上重物。若这是奥运赛场，人们会站在椅子上要求解散奥委会。既然如此，这样显而易见的职场不公怎么可能还存在呢?

Social scientists posit that historically women’s career choices were limited to lower-paying professions, such as secretaries, school teachers, or nurses. Household obligations, including giving birth and raising large families, only compounded the problem: if a woman didn’t quit working altogether, she had to put her career on hold during her 30s and 40s, the years of peak earning and advancement.

社会学家认为这是因为历史上，过去的女性受限于给薪较低的职业，例如：秘书、学校教师或护士。其他像生儿育女及维持大家庭等家庭责任只是让这样的问题更严重：如果女人不完全辞去工作，在三十及四十岁这段收入和升迁的巅峰期，她们也必须先把事业摆在一边。

But while this may have been true in the past, contemporary women have fewer children (if any) and their career options are as wide as men’s. Why, then, is there still a salary gap? Only one thing explains why a female doctor with the same qualifications as a male doctor, for example, gets paid less: gender discrimination.

不过，在过去的年代是如此，现今的女性小孩越生越少(如果有生的话)，且事业的选择性也跟男性一样多元。那么，为何薪资差异还是存在呢?就像为何一位与男医生具有相同资历的女医生所赚的薪水却比较少?唯一的解释是：性别歧视。

Vocabulary

comprise [kəmˋpraɪz] v. 由……组成

participant [pɑrˋtɪsəpənt] n. 参与者

resignation [͵rɛzɪgˋneʃən] n. 辞职

obligation [͵ɑbləˋgeʃən] n. 义务

compound [kɑmˋpaʊnd] v. 增加，加重，使恶化

contemporary [kənˋtɛmpə͵rɛrɪ] adj. 当代的

option [ˋɑpʃən] n. 选择

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biased [ˋbaɪəst] adj. 存有偏见的；偏见的

workforce [`wɝkˏfɔrs] n. 全体从业人员﹐劳动力

blaring [blɛrɪŋ] adj. 震天响的

posit [ˋpɑzɪt] v.【正式】假定﹐假设

put something on hold: 暂缓某事; 推迟做某事 to postpone something; to stop the progress of something

advancement [ədˋvænsmənt] n. 晋升

qualification [͵kwɑləfəˋkeʃən] n. 资格

gender [ˋdʒɛndɚ] n. 性别

discrimination [dɪ͵skrɪməˋneʃən] n. 不公平待遇，歧视

課文中英文講解

In recent years, an unprecedented number of women have become company directors. Despite the upsurge, however, the percentage of women in management remains unjustifiable low: only 4 percent overall. Furthermore, the top positions in major corporations remain almost exclusively the domain of men.

近年来，女性晋升为公司主管的人数已是前所未见。然而，尽管人数激增，在管理阶层中女性的比例仍是不合理地偏低：仅占总数的百分之四。而且，大型企业中的高阶职位几乎仍是男性独霸的天下。

It seem that women can only climb so far up the corporate ladder before they hit the “glass ceiling,” the imaginary barrier that makes the pinnacles of power just out of touch. Women do fare somewhat better at the lower and middle supervisory level, but even there they comprise only about 20 percent of overall positions.

女性在职场升迁的阶梯上似乎也只能爬到这么高，随后就会碰到「玻璃天花板」，这是个无形的阻碍，它使得最高权位始终遥不可及。女性在中低阶级的管理职位上也的确表现得比较优异，但即使在这个阶级，她们也只占所有职位的百分之二十而已。

But change is in the air. Modern economic growth is almost exclusively driven by service and information industries where women, both as workers and managers, seem to thrive. In addition, the “softer” management style practiced by many women (a style that emphasizes teamwork and motivation) is proving more valuable in the new economy than the “harder” male styles. Workers, it seems, are often much more productive when encourages, rather than bossed around.

但是变化在即，现代的经济成长几乎独赖服务业与信息产业，而在这些产业中，女性无论是担任职员或管理者似乎都很成功。此外，许多女性强调采用团队合作与动机管理的「柔性」管理风格，在新经济体制中比男性的「强势作风」来的要更有用。员工在受到鼓励时所表现的绩效，似乎远比被颐指气使时要好得多。

One welcome result of all this is that the wage gap between the sexes is starting to drop. Perhaps it may some day even tip in women’s favor. Maybe the race to the top of the economic mountain is about to become a fair one.

这一切所带来一项令人开心的结果，就是两性间的薪资差距逐渐减少了。或许有一天，这一切会转为对女性有利。或许这项登上职场高峰的竞赛很快就要变成一场公平竞争了。

−By Amy Lovestrand and Michael Cole

Vocabulary

percentage [pɚˋsɛntɪdʒ] n. 百分比

exclusively [ɪkˋsklusɪvlɪ] adv. 独占地

domain [doˋmen] n. 领域，范围

supervisory [͵supɚˋvaɪzərɪ] adj. 管理（员）的

thrive [θraɪv] v. 繁荣；成功

motivation [͵motəˋveʃən] n. 动机﹐诱因

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upsurge [ʌpˋsɝdʒ] n. 猛增﹐急剧上升

unjustifiable [ʌnˋdʒʌstə͵faɪəb!] adj. 不合理的，无理的

overall [ˋovɚ͵ɔl] adv. & adj.  总的，全部的，全面的

pinnacle [ˋpɪnək!] n. 顶峰，极点

fare [fɛr] v. 进展

in the air:

1, everywhere; all about, 流传

2, able to be felt or noticed 未确定

boss around: 使唤; 颐指气使  to give orders to someone; to keep telling someone what to do

tip [tɪp] v. 使倾斜

Reading Questions 

1.   In the past, which factor partly explained the wage gap between men and women?

A.  Women were as educated and ambitious as men.

B.  Women had heavy weight tied to them.

C.  Women didn’t start to work until their 50s.

D.  Women were restricted to jobs that paid less than men’s.

2.   Why does a female doctor earn less than a male doctor?

A.  Because she is not as educated.

B.  Because she is a woman.

C.  Because she needs to raise children.

D.  Because her options are not as good.

3.   What is the “glass ceiling”?

A.  It is a metaphor for what women cover themselves with for protection.

B.  It is something women need to avoid when they work.

C.  It is a metaphor for what stops women from getting to the top.

D.  It is what women have been working toward in modern times.

4.   Why are women managers more appreciated in the new economy?

A.  Women prefer to work in service and information industries.

B.  Women managers often lead workers to be more productive.

C.  Most workers prefer to work for women and not men.

D.  Women demand to make more money for the work they do.

Answer