性别歧视——阴魂不散的职场拦路虎

08 性别歧视——阴魂不散的职场拦路虎

盛世长城即将离任的董事长凯文·罗伯茨否认性别不平等是一个问题——“这场该死的辩论已经结束”。这种言论为他带来了麻烦。事实上，职场性别歧视远未结束。

职场中有哪些因素阻碍着女性发展？如果你问盛世长城(Saatchi & Saatchi)即将离任的董事长凯文·罗伯茨，他会回答问题在于女性本身。“她们的抱负不是纵向抱负，而是贪图快乐的那种内在、绕圈的追求，”他在近期接受《商业内幕》(Business Insider)采访时表示。几天后，被母公司法国阳狮集团(Publicis)停职的他承认自己“失败得太快”，并宣布将辞职。

It is superficially appealing to cast Mr Roberts as the victim of a feminist witch hunt.Surely he is a martyr who dared to speak the truth: that for many women it is the desire to have a work-life balance, rather than discrimination, that stops them reaching the top of their industry.

从表面来看，人们很容易把罗伯茨当作女权主义政治迫害的受害者。难道他不是一位敢于说实话的烈士吗：对很多女性来说，难道不是她们对工作/生活平衡的渴望（而不是性别歧视）阻碍着她们攀登事业巅峰？

But his comments went far beyond that.He denied that gender inequality was a problem at all — “the f***ing debate is all over” — and accused British advertising consultant Cindy Gallop of lying about sexual harassment in the industry.“I think she's got problems that are of her own making,” he claimed.“I think she's making up a lot of the stuff to create a profile, and to take applause.”

但是他的言论远远超出了这个范畴。他从根本上否认性别不平等是一个问题——“这场该死的辩论已经结束”——并指责英国广告业咨询顾问辛迪·盖洛普在该行业性骚扰问题上撒谎。“我觉得她的问题都是她自己搞出来的，”他声称，“我觉得她编造了很多内容来建立一个形象，并得到掌声。”

Under such circumstances, it is unsurprising that Publicis moved against him: an advertising firm should know a bad advert for its business when it sees one.Sadiq Khan, mayor or London, has banned “body shaming” posters on the capital's transport system; Unilever has pledged to spend its £6.3bn annual marketing budget on ads that smash female stereotypes.

在这种环境下，阳狮倒戈罗伯茨也是意料之中的：广告公司应该一眼看出对自身业务不利的广告。伦敦市长萨迪克·汗禁止在首都的交通系统内张贴“体形歧视”海报；联合利华承诺将该公司63亿英镑的年度营销预算用于打破女性刻板印象的广告。

女性的职场困境

For outsiders, however, an honest conversation is always more useful than knee-jerk condemnation.Mr Roberts' comments are a reminder of three roadblocks on the path to gender equality at work: outdated attitudes; unhelpful structures; and a lack of data — a result of the casual dismissal of women's experiences.

然而，在外人看来，坦诚对话总是比条件反射般的谴责来得更实在。罗伯茨的言论提醒了人们，在通往职场性别平等的道路上有3个障碍：过时的态度、无益的结构、以及缺乏数据——随意忽视女性经历的结果。

生育差距

First, it is time to overhaul our idea of a perfect employee.There is little evidence to support the assumption that macho work­aholics are the most valuable people in a company.Second, we have to smash the artificial division between a woman's choice to opt out of the rat race and “real” discrimination.Our decisions are shaped by the unequal structures of the working environment.

首先，是时候彻底反思我们对完美员工的想法了。几乎没有证据支持男性工作狂是公司最具价值员工的假设。其次，我们必须打破女性选择退出职场竞争与“真正的”歧视之间的人为划分。我们的决定是由工作环境中的不平等结构造成的。

Once a woman has taken time off work for childbirth and breastfeeding, a pattern is created where she is seen as the “primary” parent.Many hoped the introduction of shared parental leave would change that; but so far UK take-up rates have been very low.(Unlike the Scandinavian model, there is no portion which can only be taken by fathers.)

一旦女性为生育和哺乳请假，便会出现一种模式——人们会认为她的“首要职责”是母亲。很多人曾希望引入共享产假政策会改变这一点，但是迄今为止英国的接受度仍然非常低。（与北欧模式不同，英国没有只允许父亲申请的产假）。

The “maternity gap” is the most fundamental structural problem preventing gender equality in the workplace.Among full-time British workers aged 22-29, women earn more than men.At the age where women can work as flexibly, and put in the same long hours as their male peers, they do not fall behind.The pay gap opens up when children arrive — and then never closes again.

“生育差距”是阻碍职场性别平等最根本的结构性问题。年龄在22-29岁的英国全职员工中，女性的收入超过男性。在女性可以弹性工作、和男性一样投入长时间工作的年龄段，她们并不落后。男女之间的收入差距是在子女出生时拉开，之后再也无法缩小。

Very few firms “enhance” statutory paternity pay, so men are understandably reluctant to take the drop in status and income that staying at home entails.There is a very good reason for a woman to return to work after having a baby: an income of her own and the independence that brings.Where is the matching incentive for men to undertake more unpaid caring labour that takes them out of the workplace? Encouraging men to take shared parental leave, to work part time, or even to leave at 6pm to read a bedtime story, would help.

很少会有公司“补充”休陪产假的男性的法定收入，因此男性自然不愿接受在家当奶爸所伴随的地位下降和收入下滑。对女性来说，她们有很好的理由在生完孩子后恢复工作：属于自己的收入及其带来的独立性。对男性来说，离开工作场所、承担更多无偿护理的任务有什么对应的激励吗？鼓励男性申请共享产假、做兼职、甚至6点下班回家给孩子讲睡前故事，会有所帮助。

职场性骚扰

Finally, we must listen when women talk about the experiences that have held them back.Overt discrimination of the “dumb blondes can't fly planes” school is diminishing, but sexual harassment at work is widespread.It is not something women make up “to create a profile”.A glance around boardrooms and corner offices shows there is no monstrous regiment of women borne to the top on a wave of allegations against colleagues.Like other whistleblowers, women who accuse their bosses of sexual harassment often end up sidelined or forced out while the accused is protected.

最后，我们必须倾听女性谈论她们受到阻碍的经历。“愚蠢的金发美女开不了飞机”之类的公然歧视正在减少，但是职场性骚扰普遍存在。这并不是女性为“树立形象”而编造的。只要看看董事会和办公室就会发现，没有多少女性是因为指控同事而进入高层的。像其他告发者一样，指控老板性骚扰的女员工往往会被排挤或逼走，而被控的一方则会受到保护。

Gretchen Carlson, the US television presenter, was initially painted as a washed-up gold-digger when she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes, the Fox News boss.Then the dam burst: another 20 women came forward with similar accusations.Mr Ailes, who denies the claims, soon left the company, with a $40m exit package.

当美国电视主持人格蕾琴·卡尔森(Gretchen Carlson)发起针对福克斯新闻(Fox News)老板罗杰·艾尔斯(Roger Ailes)的性骚扰诉讼时，她最初被描述为拜金女。之后真相有如决堤一般：另外20位女性站出来做出了类似指控。否认这些指控的艾尔斯很快离开了公司，带着4000万美元的补偿。

职场的性别不平等问题是一项巨大挑战。在传统性别观念和女权思想深刻对立的中国社会中，职场性别歧视以更为复杂的形态盘踞在女性员工的晋升之路上。你认为在中国职场中，哪一项是女性员工面临的最大绊脚石呢？参与我们的投票吧。

词汇总结

sexual harassment 性骚扰

He denied that gender inequality was a problem at all — “the f***ing debate is all over” — and accused British advertising consultant Cindy Gallop of lying about sexual harassment in the industry.

他从根本上否认性别不平等是一个问题——“这场该死的辩论已经结束”——并指责英国广告业咨询顾问辛迪·盖洛普在该行业性骚扰问题上撒谎。

stereotype['sterɪə(ʊ)taɪp; 'stɪərɪə(ʊ)-]

vt.使用铅版；套用老套，使一成不变

n.陈腔滥调，老套；铅版

Unilever has pledged to spend its £6.3bn annual marketing budget on ads that smash female stereotypes.

联合利华承诺将该公司63亿英镑的年度营销预算用于打破女性刻板印象的广告。

knee-jerk ['ni:dʒə:k]

n.下意识，自动反应；膝反射

adj.下意识的，自动反应的；膝反射的

For outsiders, however, an honest conversation is always more useful than knee-jerk condemnation.

然而，在外人看来，坦诚对话总是比条件反射般的谴责来得更实在。

roadblock ['rəʊdblɒk]

n.路障；障碍物

vi.设置路障

Mr Roberts'comments are a reminder of three roadblocks on the path to gender equality at work.

罗伯茨的言论提醒了人们，在通往职场性别平等的道路上有3个障碍。

workaholic [wəːkəˈhɒlɪk]

n.专心工作的人；醉心于工作的人；为免遭辞退而工作过分卖力的人

adj.醉心于工作的

There is little evidence to support the assumption that macho workaholics are the most valuable people in a company.

几乎没有证据支持男性工作狂是公司最具价值员工的假设。