職場女性要工作還是要孩子?

It's long been known that high-powered careers can hamper or delay women's plans to have children. But a new study suggests the challenges loom especially large for women of Generation X.

人們早就知道，高端職業會阻礙或推遲女性生小孩的計劃。但一項新研究表明，這種挑戰對出生於上世紀六七十年代的“X世代”的女性來說尤其大。

A full 43% of skilled white-collar Gen X women, ages 33 to 46 years old, haven't yet had children based on a study of 2,952 college-educated white-collar workers released last week.

根據上週發佈的一項對2,952名大學文化程度白領工人進行的研究，在33歲至46歲、技能熟練的X世代女白領中，高達43%的人還沒有孩子。

The study conducted for the Center for Work-Life Policy, by Knowledge Networks, suggests the pressures imposed by demanding work schedules of 60 hours or more a week, along with strong career ambitions, heavy debt loads and the sluggish economy, are among the reasons, according to the Center. The conclusions are based on a survey, focus-group discussions and one-on-one interviews.

Getty Images這項研究由工作-生活政策中心（Center for Work-Life Policy）委託Knowledge Networks進行。該中心說，研究顯示，每週工作60小時或以上的嚴苛工作日程的壓力，以及執着的事業追求、沉重的債務負擔和蕭條的經濟是這種現象的原因。該結論是根據調查、焦點小組討論和一對一訪談得出的。

Of course, women in general are starting families later than they did in the past, using the extra years to finish their education or build a career, the Census Bureau says. The average age of U.S. women giving birth for the first time rose 3.6 years between 1970 and 2006 to 25 years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. More recently, the recession and sluggish job market have also played a role in people's delaying plans to start a family, as we have posted before.

當然，據美國人口普查局（Census Bureau）稱，現在女性組建家庭的時間一般比過去晚，她們用更多時間來完成教育或開創事業。根據美國國家衛生統計中心（National Center for Health Statistics）發佈的數據，在1970年至2006年間，美國女性初次生育的平均年齡提高了3.6歲，達到了25歲。最近，就業市場的衰退和蕭條也對人們推遲成家計劃有影響，正如前文提到的那樣。

The childbearing patterns of these white-collar workers depart from those of the population as a whole. Only 18.8% to 29.7% of women ages 30 to 44 years haven't yet had children, based on the most closely comparable and most recent Census Bureau data from 2010.

這些白領職員的生育模式與整體人口有差異。根據美國人口普查局最具可比性也是最新的2010年數據，在30歲至44歲的女性中，只有18.8%至29.7%的人還沒有生孩子。That suggests workplace pressures may indeed be having an impact. Also, Gen-Xers, born between 1965 and 1978, shouldered a heavier burden of student loans after college, compared with preceding generations, and as young adults they experienced several boom-and-bust cycles, as well as a severe housing slump. All of these factors may have made starting a family and providing such basics as housing and education seem more difficult.

這表明工作壓力可能的確有影響。與前幾代人相比，生於1965年至1978年的X世代還肩負着畢業後償還學生貸款的沉重負擔，這些年輕人經歷了幾次經濟興衰的週期，還有一次嚴重的房地產危機。所有這些因素都讓成家和提供住房與教育這些基本條件顯得更困難。

"Searching for a balance between work demands and personal obligations leaves them overworked, overstressed and overstretched," the study says.

這項研究稱，在工作要求和個人義務之間尋找平衡讓他們工作過重、壓力過大、疲勞過度。

As a result of the pressures, however, Gen Xers are also more resilient, researchers say. They set lofty goals for themselves; of those surveyed, 75% of Gen-X women surveyed and 72% of Gen-X men describe themselves as ambitious. But many are frustrated in their career ambitions by older baby boomers ahead of them in the management pipeline, many of whom can't afford to retire. Nearly half of Gen-Xers feel stalled in their careers, the study says. Also, 43% say their ability to repay student loans plays an important role in their career choices.

然而，研究人員稱，壓力也讓X世代的適應力更強。他們爲自己定下高遠的目標。在受調查者中，75%的X世代女性和72%的X世代男性將自己描述爲有雄心壯志的人。但他們晉升管理層的道路上還擋着出生於嬰兒潮時期的老員工，後者中的許多人如果退休就無力生活，因此許多X世代在事業發展上都遇到了挫折。該研究稱，近半數的X世代感到在事業上停滯不前。43%的X世代還說，他們償還學生貸款的能力在職業選擇中起到了重要作用。

The finding calls to mind child-bearing patterns in the 1970s and 1980s among older members of the baby-boom generation, some of whom passed up having children because of the pressures of executive jobs. One 1982 study found only 39% of top female executives had children. That percentage had risen to 57% by the early 1990s, however, as combining motherhood and executive careers became more accepted and common.

該發現讓人回想起較早的嬰兒潮世代在20世紀70年代至80年代的生育模式，他們中一些人由於管理工作的壓力而放棄了要孩子。1982年的一項研究發現，只有39%的女性高管有孩子。不過到20世紀90年代初，當爲人母者同時擔任管理者的現象變得更爲人們所接受、也更爲普遍時，該比例上升到了57%。

Readers, do you think demanding jobs keep women from having kids? Or cause them to delay child-bearing longer? Are student loans a major factor? Have workload, career ambitions or debt played a role in your decisions about starting a family?

讀者們，你們認爲繁重的工作會妨礙女性要孩子或導致她們推遲生孩子嗎？學生貸款是重要因素嗎？工作量、事業追求或債務是否影響了你的成家決定？