[REBORN FROM THE ASHES][comments][01.15]

adammaksimUID: 2675466

关于REBORN FROM THE ASHES组COMMENTS活动的说明&汇总
https://bbs.gter.net/thread-1042733-1-2.html
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Women and work


We did it!
Dec 30th 2009
From The Economist print edition

The rich world’s quiet revolution: women are gradually taking over the workplace

Getty ImagesAT A time when the world is short of causes for celebration, here is a candidate: within the next few months women will cross the 50% threshold and become the majority of the American workforce. Women already make up the majority of university graduates in the OECD countries and the majority of professional workers in several rich countries, including the United States. Women run many of the world’s great companies, from PepsiCo in America to Areva in France.

Women’s economic empowerment is arguably the biggest social change of our times. Just a generation ago, women were largely confined to repetitive, menial jobs. They were routinely subjected to casual sexism and were expected to abandon their careers when they married and had children. Today they are running some of the organisations that once treated them as second-class citizens. Millions of women have been given more control over their own lives. And millions of brains have been put to more productive use. Societies that try to resist this trend—most notably the Arab countries, but also Japan and some southern European countries—will pay a heavy price in the form of wasted talent and frustrated citizens.


This revolution has been achieved with only a modicum of friction (see article). Men have, by and large, welcomed women’s invasion of the workplace. Yet even the most positive changes can be incomplete or unsatisfactory. This particular advance comes with two stings. The first is that women are still under-represented at the top of companies. Only 2% of the bosses of America’s largest companies and 5% of their peers in Britain are women. They are also paid significantly less than men on average. The second is that juggling work and child-rearing is difficult. Middle-class couples routinely complain that they have too little time for their children. But the biggest losers are poor children—particularly in places like America and Britain that have combined high levels of female participation in the labour force with a reluctance to spend public money on child care.

Dealing with the juggle
These two problems are closely related. Many women feel they have to choose between their children and their careers. Women who prosper in high-pressure companies during their 20s drop out in dramatic numbers in their 30s and then find it almost impossible to regain their earlier momentum. Less-skilled women are trapped in poorly paid jobs with hand-to-mouth child-care arrangements. Motherhood, not sexism, is the issue: in America, childless women earn almost as much as men, but mothers earn significantly less. And those mothers’ relative poverty also disadvantages their children.

Demand for female brains is helping to alleviate some of these problems. Even if some of the new theories about warm-hearted women making inherently superior workers are bunk (see article), several trends favour the more educated sex, including the “war for talent” and the growing flexibility of the workplace. Law firms, consultancies and banks are rethinking their “up or out” promotion systems because they are losing so many able women. More than 90% of companies in Germany and Sweden allow flexible working. And new technology is making it easier to redesign work in all sorts of family-friendly ways.

Women have certainly performed better over the past decade than men. In the European Union women have filled 6m of the 8m new jobs created since 2000. In America three out of four people thrown out of work since the “mancession” began have been male. And the shift towards women is likely to continue: by 2011 there will be 2.6m more female than male university students in America.

The light hand of the state
All this argues, mostly, for letting the market do the work. That has not stopped calls for hefty state intervention of the Scandinavian sort. Norway has used threats of quotas to dramatic effect. Some 40% of the legislators there are women. All the Scandinavian countries provide plenty of state-financed nurseries. They have the highest levels of female employment in the world and far fewer of the social problems that plague Britain and America. Surely, comes the argument, there is a way to speed up the revolution—and improve the tough lives of many working women and their children?

If that means massive intervention, in the shape of affirmative-action programmes and across-the-board benefits for parents of all sorts, the answer is no. To begin with, promoting people on the basis of their sex is illiberal and unfair, and stigmatises its beneficiaries. And there are practical problems. Lengthy periods of paid maternity leave can put firms off hiring women, which helps explain why most Swedish women work in the public sector and Sweden has a lower proportion of women in management than America does.

But there are plenty of cheaper, subtler ways in which governments can make life easier for women. Welfare states were designed when most women stayed at home. They need to change the way they operate. German schools, for instance, close at midday. American schools shut down for two months in the summer. These things can be changed without huge cost. Some popular American charter schools now offer longer school days and shorter summer holidays. And, without going to Scandinavian lengths, America could invest more in its children: it spends a lower share of its GDP on public child-care than almost any other rich country, and is the only rich country that refuses to provide mothers with paid maternity leave. Barack Obama needs to measure up to his campaign rhetoric about “real family values”.

Still, these nagging problems should not overshadow the dramatic progress that women have made in recent decades. During the second world war, when America’s menfolk were off at the front, the government had to summon up the image of Rosie the Riveter, with her flexed muscle and “We Can Do It” slogan, to encourage women into the workforce. Today women are marching into the workplace in ever larger numbers and taking a sledgehammer to the remaining glass ceilings.

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15174489

windandrain2004UID: 2597690

占，赞～～

doodaUID: 2712643

This editorial is about women’s progress that have made in the recent decades. As an inculpable fact, female has been taking the advantage in numerous of professional fields which dominated by man for thousands of years.  All this should attribute to the women liberation work raised in America. Accompanying with the significant success, new social issues such as families which hostress going out for work, Children whose mother do not have enough time to take caer of them appeared. I think these situations will be aggravated along with the social developments. Banks, law firm as well as accounting firm have been taking more and more importance during the past twenty years in developing China.

As male’s compensation force, women were encouraged to working place. But in my opinion, this is a trick from the very beginning. Female has little physical power than male and also need to take the work to rear children which is one of their burn to have ability which males can not help affirmly. When women were stired up to go out to work, they definitely need to take more work load which contain both in side and out side of home. Although the article mentioned that more family-friendship methods are available in some companies, they all count female to do both their work of family and professional even at home.

Women have been loaded so much than they could afford, and the government should take more actions to help them, especially mothers to live a better lifes. Not just lengthen their children’s school hours, but to release female more time when male with paied leaves, so that women can fell more blessedness then ever. They will happier than before take good care of family and get more respect in both home and society.

fancywwUID: 2583671

Words and expressions:
Getty imagines AT A time when the world is short of causes for celebration    什么意思？
....is arguably the biggest social change of our times.
be largely confined to...
be routinely subject to...
Societies that try to resist this trend—most notably the Arab countries, but also Japan and some southern European countries—will pay a heavy price in the form of wasted talent and frustrated citizens.
a modicum of friction 一点点摩擦
by and large  总的来说
This particular advance comes with two stings.  （补充/让步论证）
juggling work and child-rearing is difficult         很好的表达：“玩转...和...”
bunk：床位 铺位
mancession：男性衰退


Comment：

Although women's participation in the workforce takes place with only a little friction, most women has and are now still experiencing a difficult spiritual pressure posed by the society and traditional values. On one hand, just as the author mentions, the revolution is not a completely satisfactory. Women are still quite rare in the largest companies and government leaders. And the children tend to get less attendance if both parents participate in the work force.

It is a permanent dilemma for women to choose between children and career. A balance or a win-win state between the two is a fantasy most of the time. As far as I am concerned, a woman can be either a good mother or success in her career. Hardly someone can achieve the both, because in our values a good mother means much more than a good father. And to be a successful parent or a employee, women need to devote more than men in either field.

Fortunately, society has gradually noted their inherent specialty and contribution, and this makes women more superior and advantageous in some professions. Also own to there innate hardworking and self-disciplined characteristics, women tend to do better than men in academic field. While women who seek for independence are still struggling against the traditional in some places, government are on the way to help create a better environment for women in work places.

prettywraithUID: 197049

Comments (2010-01-15):
About women's rights is an old topic having been debated intensely in the past decades. Until now, at least in American, feminists have possessed powerful influence in American politics. In this passage, author mainly discusses the problem "women and work" facing by women with babies. With the raising of women's social status, author reveals women still have trouble with how to choose between children and careers. At last, through referring the Scandinavian countries' experience, author suggests American government should set up more charter schools and invest more in children.

From my perspective, women have made dramatic progress in recent decades. But this situation only happens in American or developed country. In Arab countries, Japan, some southern European countries, and even in China, women's legitimate rights are always ignored. For instance, in China, the age of women's retirement is 50, and the age of men's retirement is 55. Furthermore, when many companies hire employees, they usually refuse the job hunters who are women with all kinds of excuses. These phenomena are caused by not only the national policies, but also traditional culture. Certainly, women sometimes should struggle for their legal rights by themselves. Comparing with these unfair laws or policies about women's rights, "women and work" problem should be concerned later. Moreover, in America, for the woman who has husband, the burden of taking care of babies can be shared with her husband, and for the woman in a single parent family, she can also seek for helps from government or the Organization of Women's Rights.

Wrong spelling:
discuss  disccuss
referring  refering
school   shcools

qisaimanUID: 2703629

though women will have become the majority of the american workforce, unsatisfactory situation still be here, including that they are still under-represented at the top of companies. and the problems of child-rearing.the flextime help to alleviate the latter problem. then the scenarios between
america and other countries is analyzed. compared with the scandinavian sort , which includes quotas hiring and other , the article suggests different ways for america, such measurements as paid maternity leave and flexible work time should be considered. as to the remaining glass ceilings, the reason is not mentioned here and a promising foresight can be expected.

adammaksimUID: 2675466

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

bunk n.铺位，废话

mancession  Male unemployment or mancession is the disproportionate unemployment of men as compared with women. This gender gap became wide in the USA in the recession of 2009 when 10.5% of men were unemployed, compared with 8% of women

hefty adj.强壮的

stigmatise  vt.打上烙印

Today women are marching into the workplace in ever larger numbers and taking asledgehammer to the remaining glass ceilings.

comments:

With no doubt, women are playing significant roles in our modern society more than ever, especially in China. The most close and obvious example for me is the increasing amount of talented women professors in our college. Hilary, Rice and the CEO of pepsi IndraNooyi all show us women can do as well as men, or even better, in those fields once prohibited for women. However, I still believe, with no intent to favor sexism, that there exist some inherent differences between men and women making it much more difficult for women to seek a career like men. God endow women and men different talents, for example the greatest composers in our history are all men, yet girls always do better in mastering languages, neither of them can replace each other completely. The truly advance of our society is not replacing sexism with feminism, but every citizen in it can get a chance to fully develop their talent and choose their way to find the happiness regardless of their gender.  

dingyi0311UID: 2627919

My comments.
The author intends to tell people a good news that women’s social status are increasing since recent survey shows that women account for the majority of the total workplace. Many of the women run great companies in the developing countries like America and Britain.
Even so, the author was very discreet and point out that there are many problem need to be illuminate. The statistic that woman’s increased propotion in workforce shadow the truth that they are not treated equally important with male. They are still have lower salaries and less in number in the high rank position in the company such as the management; many have the so called “ dead job” which means that they are less likely to get promotion.
An interesting phenomenon was observed by the author that the unmarried woman was more welcomed while the married generally have poor job. It was point out that the motherhood is the reason that contribute the difference. Companies are worried that those women will care more about the family rather than their work in company. However, If mothers devoted to their work, the children will suffer. Those young children can not acquire enough caress and precious education from their mother. This will not beneficial for the future development of the children.

KiKi~淇水滺滺UID: 2679824

Battle of sexes, it is just never going to end, not to talking about the family problems and the children education involved.

In the hundreds of years, we just have used to have men control the world and many other related fields. So we are afraid of this situation will be change, especially the males. What does it really change whether women will cross the 50% threshold of the American workforce? I mean, how much difference it really makes between the 49.99% and 50%, it’s just a percentage. From my perspective of thinking, it’s just a signal that we are going to approach the “equality” and it’s still a long way to get there under the current situations, much less the “conquer of men”.

123runfordreamUID: 2697608

Comment:
Women has been taken as second-grade citizen since long ago either in the eastern or western. It is a huge progress for women to come out of the houses and go into the workplace. As I say, it is not easy at all to fight for the rights women should share with men. Forturnly (fortunely)(fortunately), we see a glance of light. Yet, it is still hard for woman is the one who concive with baby for ten month, for who does the housework, who brings children to school. It seems that taking care of the children’s daily life is a job only of women’s. That’s the problem when they are going to work. And the ture is women can do almost men can do and even better, though men can’t. that requires the embrace for women’s difficulties.
Surviving in the world is not easy for a man not even mention a woman. How to deal with the work and life become a meaningful question, that is how to cope with the career and family, a dilpmna (dilemna) situation,too. If the society would like to keep this trend, it has to figure out a way for women to live comfortable with it, at least a little bit more comfortalbe. Don't ignore women because they are 30 and soon to have babies then have to ask leave for a while.

木虫虫UID: 2694986

[REBORN FROM THE ASHES][comments][01.15]


candidate
50% threshold
confined to  限于……之内
notably 显而易见的
pay a heavy price
This revolution has been achieved with only a modicum少量 of friction 冲突
invasion
under-represented at the top of companies
reluctance不愿意
regain their earlier momentum
alleviate减轻
And those mothers’ relative poverty also disadvantages their children.
massive   plenty of
intervention干涉
across-the-board 全盘的
To begin with, promoting people on the basis of their sex is illiberal小心眼 and unfair, and stigmatises侮辱 its beneficiaries.And there are practical problems.
Lengthy periods of paid maternity leave产假 can put firms off hiring women
public sector 公共部门
subtler微妙的
Welfare states 福利国家
for instance
invest more in 在……上投入
measure up to 符合
Still, these nagging problems should not overshadow the dramatic progress that women have made in recent decades.
were off at the front 在前线
Today women are marching into the workplace in ever larger numbers and taking a sledgehammer大锤 to the remaining glass ceilings传说中的玻璃封顶^_^



Comment

In recent decades, women's rights have been promoted to an unprecedented level. But things not go all smoothly. When women take part in the workplace, they have to make a choice between family and career. What’s more, in some situations, women not be promoted for judging by the sex.

It reminds me of the sex discrimination in finding jobs. As a graduating student, I hear plenty of complaints about employment from people around. In this article also mentions that in today's American, still refuses to provide mothers with paid maternity leave. In my opinion that even women have been given more chance to work, there remained a lot of juggle and unfair.

qxn_1987UID: 2610437

Women’s economic empowerment is arguably the biggest social change of our times. Just a generation ago, women were largely confined to repetitive, menial jobs. They were routinely subjected to casual sexism and were expected to abandon their careers when they married and had children.

The second is that juggling work and child-rearing is difficult. Middle-class couples routinely complain that they have too little time for their children. But the biggest losers are poor children—particularly in places like America and Britain that have combined high levels of female participation in the labour force

with a reluctance to（不情愿地，勉强地）
maternity leave（产假）


Comments:

Obviously, the role of women has dramaticly and significantly changed during the past decades, though admittedly, there still exist some sexism to a ceratin extent in different area in the world. Whereas, besides the sexism, other dilemmas of women appear at the same time, that is juggling work and child-rearing.

Working-women, as far as I am concerned, endure higher pressure and more embrassment than men, who must assume the role of employees in their companies, as well as the role of mothers and wives in their homes, and what’s more, who are expected to perform well in all the roles. As a matter of fact, it so difficult to keep a balance between both roles. Allow me to coin a sentence in the article:” juggling work and child-rearing is difficult.”

======
拼写：
wives
dramaticly

敛寒影UID: 2613052

make up the majority of

is arguably可论证地，正如可提出证据加以证明的那样

were largely confined to禁闭
subjected to使服从，使遭受

given more control over

pay a heavy price in

a modicum少量，一点点 of

with a reluctance不情愿地
regain their earlier momentum

is helping to alleviate
measure up to符合，达到，够得上
overshadow the dramatic progress
march into长驱直入



Comment:


Refferring to this topic about women and work,like what the article says,women are gradually taking over the workplace.As a female,I am glad to see women already make up the majority of university graduates in the OECD countries and the majority of professional workers in several rich countries.Then we shoule say women are not inferior to men in the aspects of wisdom and ability,even more patient and carefulness being competent for some kinds of jobs than men does.
The author mainly argued about the relationship between women’s work and child-care problem.This article points out some problems such as having combined high levels of female participation in the labour force the government with a reluctance to spend public money on child care,and childless women earn almost as much as men, but mothers earn significantly less.It is certain that women take well care of children than men and children with more love from mother should thrive healthy.Because of this,women afford more presure than men to some extent from both worki and familiy.Therefore,
governments should make life easier for women and supply more flexible working for them.

海王泪UID: 2673613

My Comment
"We can do it”. I have seen the picture with this slogan somewhere. When men are sent to battle field, the American government encourages their women to leave house and walk into factory. However, the march ended after the World War II when men come back and rule workplace. Fortunately, societies found the march reappears, but with a different motivation from the one of war: Not the complex external factors but simply the feminist inside their heart. Therefore, true confidence of women’s capability and status today dramatically changes the slogan like this: “We did it!”

However, something warmhearted but troublesome still prevents women from being stronger enough as men; that is, their more responsibility and participation in family. Children and careers are always in strained conflicts.

Is that true? No, it is nothing more than a false dilemma. Families could outsource their tendance with the help of government. In the "light hand of the state" we see some governments provide plenty of state-financed nurseries or prolong children's time of staying in schools. The false dilemma could be easily solved if women are willing to send their sweethearts to professionals.

tequilawineUID: 2702008

empowerment  

n.
授权; 许可

menial
[me·ni·al || 'miːnɪəl]

n.
仆人

adj.
适合仆人做的, 卑微的

sexism
[sex·ism || 'seksɪzm]

n.
男性至上主义, 蔑视女性

notably
['nəʊtəblɪ]

adv.
显着地, 特别地

modicum  ['mɔdikəm]

n. 少量，一小份

friction
[fric·tion || 'frɪkʃn]

n.
摩擦, 不和, 医疗摩擦

by and large
总的说来；大体上

child-rearing  ['tʃɑild riəˌriŋ]

n. 抚养孩子

prosper  ['prɔspə]   

vi. 繁盛，成功，兴旺

momentum  [məu'mentəm]   

n. 动力，要素，势头，（物理）动量

hand-to-mouth
D.J.['hændtə'maʊθ]
K.K.['hændtə'maʊθ]
adj.
无隔宿之粮的,仅能糊口的

alleviate  [ə'li:vieit;ə'li:viˌeit]

vt. 减轻，使 ... 缓和

bunk  [bʌŋk]

n. 铺位

n. <口>胡言乱语

v. 为 ... 提供卧铺，睡觉

light hand
n.
巧手,巧妙手段

hefty  ['hefti]   

adj. 重的，肌肉发达的，异常大的，相当多的

quota
[quo·ta || 'kwəʊtə]

n.
配额, 限额

in the shape of
〈口〉以…形式
affirmative action   
(支持、鼓励聘用女性、少数族裔等受歧视者的)积极行动或措施，反歧视行动
across-the-board
全盘的,全面的
全面地
maternity leave
产假
measure up to
符合, 一致

nag
[n&aelig;g]

v.
使烦恼; 不断地找...的岔子; 跟...纠缠不休; 困扰; 不断唠叨; 不断引起苦恼; 责骂不休

n.
好唠叨的人#小马, 竞赛马, 驽马

summon up
v.
振作,鼓起

sledgehammer  ['sledʒˌh&aelig;mə]   

n. 长柄大锤

v. 用大锤敲打

adj. 重击的

1 This particular advance comes with two stings.表达缺点的好方式。
2 In America three out of four people thrown out of work since the “mancession” began have been male. 状语插入
3 Surely, comes the argument, there is a way to speed up the revolution—and improve the tough lives of many working women and their children?
4 If that means massive intervention, in the shape of affirmative-action programmes and across-the-board benefits for parents of all sorts, the answer is no. 假设否定
5 To begin with, promoting people on the basis of their sex is illiberal and unfair, and stigmatises its beneficiaries.
6 During the second world war, when America’s menfolk were off at the front, the government had to summon up the image of Rosie the Riveter, with her flexed muscle and “We Can Do It” slogan, to encourage women into the workforce.

Comment:
Have the discriminative of sexism gone away from us? Simply answer is no. Although nowadays I think it is pretty normal to see women, who work in the high position in a company with a powerful right, to compete with men to exemplify the equal ability to their husbands, some of them still have to give up their booming career for beloved family—their children. So the liberty comes with the sting---family value. The most important issue about that, in my opinion, is that our traditional custom which make us feel ordinary that women need to take care of children after birth, besides we mentioned above, they still have to confront long absenteeism for their parturition.

Affirmative-action programmes and across-the-board benefits for parents of all sorts is not the solution, but worse. We can know from the author explanation of that, from both sides, promoting someone on basis of sex is illiberal and unfair, and stigmatises its beneficiaries. In contrast to that, from the other side, practical problems also exists in it, that lengthy periods of paid maternity leave can put firms off hiring women, that’s why women got less promoted after married , even worse after having children.

Road comes from meander way. We can sponsor for the professional women for their bearing period, in order to release some burden from the company, also provide them some kinds of self continuing education during off work to keep pace with the fast changing society. What’s more, to let them more relive, work nursery or some measures like that is indispensible, in other words, we can make mother work with child in the same place under their noses. To do it by fathers may not be bad. Who knows!

Advantages linger in the whole work force of women. It is already known that women gradually take the control of the world with valid statistic analysis. With more free of home, the unexpectable of the work force will affect our future shockingly.
Nowdays nowadays
Examplify
exemplify
Nursery
nursery
Necesstiate necessitate