每日英語跟讀 Ep.898: Economic Strain Grows, Hitting Working Mothers 疫情拖垮經濟 職場媽媽受創

Working during the pandemic has meant very different things for Virginia Dressler and for her husband, Brandon.

對薇吉妮雅·崔斯勒和她的丈夫布蘭登來說，在疫情全球大流行期間工作，有著非常不同的含意。

As he, a delivery driver, continued his routes near their home in Newbury, Ohio, she spent her days caring for their 3-year-old twins. Only after her husband came home at 6 p.m. could she turn to her job as a digital projects librarian at Kent State University, finishing her eight-hour shift from home at about 2 a.m.

當身為送貨司機的丈夫繼續在俄亥俄州紐伯利市的住家附近送貨時，她則在家中照顧三歲的雙胞胎小孩。要到丈夫6點回到家後，她才能開始做她肯特州立大學數位計畫圖書管理員的工作，在家上班，直到凌晨2點左右才結束八小時的輪班工作。

Later, he was furloughed and took over some of the child care responsibilities. But now, with the economy reopening, the prospect of being summoned back to campus fills Virginia Dressler with more anxiety: Day care centers are just starting to reopen, with restrictions, so who will take care of their children?

後來，布蘭登被迫休無薪假並且分擔了一些照顧孩子的責任，但現在隨著經濟活動重新開啟，被召回校園工作的可能性增添了薇吉妮雅·崔斯勒的焦慮，托兒所才剛開始重新營運，又有種種限制，孩子要由誰來照顧呢?

As the pandemic upends work and home life, women have carried an outsize share of the burden, more likely to lose a job and more likely to shoulder the load of closed schools and day care. For many working mothers, the gradual reopening won’t solve their problems but compound them — forcing them out of the labor force or into part-time jobs while increasing their responsibilities at home.

這場全球大流行疾病顛覆了工作與家庭生活，讓婦女們肩負超大的重擔，她們更可能失去工作，也更可能承受學校與托兒所關閉所產生的負擔。對許多職場媽媽而言，經濟活動逐歩重新開啟並不能解決她們的問題，反而讓問題雪上加霜，迫使她們離開勞動市場或從事兼職工作，同時也加重了她們在家中的責任。

The impact could last a lifetime, reducing their earning potential and work opportunities.

這種影響可能會持續一生，減損她們賺取收入的潛力與工作的機會。

“We could have an entire generation of women who are hurt,” Betsey Stevenson, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, said of pregnant women and working mothers whose children are too young to manage on their own. “They may spend a significant amount of time out of the workforce, or their careers could just peter out in terms of promotions.”

談到孕婦與孩子太小生活無法自理的職業媽媽，密西根大學經濟學和公共政策教授貝西．史蒂文生說：「我們可能會有整整一個世代的女性受到傷害，她們可能會有很長一段時間脫離職場，或是她們的職涯在升遷方面機會逐漸消失。」

Women who drop out of the workforce to take care of children often have trouble getting back in, and the longer they stay out, the harder it is.

為了照顧小孩而退出職場的女性，往往難以重返職場，而且她們退出的時間愈久，重返職場愈難。

The economic crisis magnifies the downsides. Wage losses are much more severe and enduring when they occur in recessions, and workers who lose jobs now are likely to have less secure employment in the future.

這場經濟危機擴大了不利因素，薪資損失在經濟衰退期間要來得更嚴重和持久，現在失業的勞工將來找到的工作很可能更不牢靠。

Family responsibilities as well as lower wages have always pushed women in and out of the workforce. Women often leave or lose jobs to care for a sick child or aging relative.In countries that offer more comprehensive support for families — like Germany, France, Canada and Sweden — a significantly larger proportion of women are in the labor force.

家庭責任與較低的工資一向都會迫使婦女在勞動市場中進進出出。婦女經常為照顧生病的孩子或年邁的親人而離開或失去工作。在德國、法國、加拿大和瑞典等為家庭提供更全面支持的國家，就業婦女的比率要高得多。

Despite the miserable choices facing many working mothers, several economists retain hopes that the increased pressure on families could — over the long term — force structural and cultural changes that could benefit women: a better child care system, more flexible work arrangements, even a deeper appreciation of the sometimes overwhelming demands of managing a household with children by partners stranded at home for the first time.

儘管許多職場媽媽面臨痛苦的選擇，有幾位經濟學家仍懷抱希望，他們認為從長遠來看，家庭承受的壓力加重，可能會迫使有利於婦女的結構與文化改革出現：更好的托兒制度，更具彈性的工作安排，甚至對困在家中的兩口子要管理好有孩子的家庭時而大到難以承受的壓力，也首度能有更深的體諒。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/354557/web/