時尚雙語:美商界女性職業前景看好

No advance for women in top U.S. jobs

Women in 2008 made no significant gains in winning more top US business jobs, according to a study released on Wednesday, but the head of the study said women are poised to make strides in the year ahead.

The number of women who were board directors, corporate officers or top earners at Fortune 500 companies remained essentially unchanged, said the study by Catalyst, a nonprofit group that promotes opportunities for women in business.

The percentage of companies with women on the board of directors was 15.1 percent this year, compared with 14.8 percent in 2007, Catalyst said.

Also, the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women was 15.7 percent in 2008 and 15.4 percent in 2007, it said. The percentage of top earners in 2008 who were women was 6.2 percent, compared to 6.7 percent in 2007, it said.

The research on the Fortune 500 companies was based on data as of March 31, 2008. The slight changes in the numbers are not considered statistically significant, Catalyst said.

Nevertheless, given the changes in U.S. politics, the future for women in business looks more promising, said Ilene Lang, president and chief executive officer of Catalyst.

"Overall we're expecting to see change next year," Lang said. "When we look at shareholders, decision makers, the general public, they're looking for change.

"What they're basically saying is, 'Don't give us more of the status quo. Get new ideas in there, get some fresh faces,'" she said.

Lang said President-elect Barack Obama's choices for cabinet and other leadership positions, which include women and minorities, former rivals and opponents, bode well for women in the corporate world.

"These are very, very inclusive teams," she said. "I think that can be a role model for leadership in other sectors."

The Catalyst study also noted that minority women -- black, Asian or Latina -- comprised 3.2 percent of company directorships, compared with 3.0 percent in 2007.

本週三發佈的一項研究報告顯示，2008年美國商界女性在獲得高管職位方面沒有取得明顯進步，但研究負責人稱明年商界女性的前景看好。

促進商界女性職業發展的非贏利機構Catalyst對“財富500強”企業開展的一項調查發現，在過去一年中，這些公司的董事會和管理層成員或高薪員工中女性的比例基本沒變化。

報告稱，今年15.1%的公司有女董事，去年這一比例爲14.8%。

此外，今年公司管理層的女性比例爲15.7%，去年爲15.4%。高薪員工中女性佔6.2%，去年爲6.7%。

該調查主要對2008年3月31日以前的相關數據進行了分析。Catalyst稱，這些細微的數據變化在統計學上意義不大。

Catalyst機構總裁兼首席執行官艾琳•朗表示，儘管如此，考慮到今年美國政壇的變化，商界女性的前景將會改觀。

她說：“我們期待明年的變化。股東、決策者和公衆都在期待改變。”

她說：“大家都在說：‘我們不要再維持現狀，我們需要新的理念，新的面孔。’”

她說，美國當選總統巴拉克·奧巴馬挑選的內閣班子和其他政府要員對商界女性十分有利，其中包括女性、少數族裔、前競爭對手和反對者等。

她說：“奧巴馬組建了一個非常多元化的團隊，爲其他領域樹立了榜樣。”

該報告同時指出，少數族裔女性（非洲裔、亞裔或拉丁裔）佔公司管理層的3.2%，去年這一比例爲3.0%。

Vocabulary:

board of directors:董事會

status quo:現狀