【经济学人】两全其美：性别工资差距仍需缩小 [英国媒体]

Having it all

两全其美

The gender pay gap that still needs to be closed

性别工资差距仍需缩小

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

更容易兼顾家庭与工作对男性和女性都有帮助



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.

她们“做同样的工作，也受到法律或义务的约束，而且多数有依靠她们的父母和兄弟姐妹。那么女性为何得不到同等的工资？”1905年，同工同酬女权主义者向纽约公立学校的女性教师派发的传单中提出这一问题。当时男性教师的年薪起点为900美元，女性教师为600美元。

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.

在大多数发达国家，这种公然歧视已成为历史。为同一雇主做同样的工作，女性和男性的薪酬分别为98美分和1美元。但性别工资差距依然存在，在主要由发达国家组成的 “经济合作与发展组织”中，女性的平均全职工资是男性的85%。

Women earn less than men because their careers differ in two ways (see article). 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.

女性收入少于男性，因为女性职业有两方面不同。许多女性选择教师、护士等职业，与男性职业相比利润不算丰厚，也许是因为长期以来，女性的工作价值被低估。女性为母亲身份付出了巨大代价，她们往往在产假期间错失晋升机会，随后选择条件不太苛刻、前途渺茫的工作。她们往往因扮演新的角色而被大材小用，但孩子放学总得有人去接。

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.

政府没有资格命令年轻人追求什么职业，或命令父母怎样分配责任。但女性技能得不到充分发挥，对于女性和社会都是一种浪费。如果夫妻分道扬镳，后果会令人极其痛苦。

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.

相比最终从事的职业，男性和女性希望从事的职业更为相似。女性同样拥有雄心壮志，她们比男性更有可能上大学，也可能要求获得晋升。年轻男性与父辈相比，不大可能只想扮演养家糊口的角色，他们中有许多希望在养育子女方面发挥重要作用。

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.

相比同工同酬法案获得通过，帮助两性实现各自的抱负更为复杂。这不需要社会工程学，或让有工作的母亲享受昂贵的特殊待遇，后者使有些雇主从一开始就避免雇用或提拔年轻女性。

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.

首先要有设计合理的产假。美国是新妈妈无权休产假的唯一发达国家，许多女性因此失去工作。除非有些产假是留给父亲的，如挪威和瑞典，否则夫妻更愿意让母亲休产假，生育后在家做全职妈妈，如果父亲较为年长，地位和收入较高更为如此。

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).

其次是优质的学前教育。调整教学日和假期适应工作的家长，利用课后和假期活动延长教学日和假期（避免瑞士那种送孩子回家吃午饭的愚蠢规定）。

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.

这些政策很多需要花钱，但回报也很高。事实证明陪产假能让父亲更多参与养育子女，帮助孩子茁壮成长。学前教育使幼童在学校表现优秀。女性不因做母亲而告别职业生涯，以后将缴纳更高的税。将来女性年纪大了或双方离婚了，她们需要国家救助的可能性会减少。

Balancing act

兼顾各方

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.

雇主不合时宜的认为离职意味着缺少壮志雄心，以此为由辞退休产假的女员工。雇主为了自身利益，应当停止这种做法。最重要的是，雇主为所有员工提供更多的灵活性能使自身受益。员工有权要求休产假，但男性比女性更多的遭到拒绝。只有当男性可以兼顾家庭与工作时，女性才能做到。