职场女性要工作还是要孩子?

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.

人们早就知道，高端职业会阻碍或推迟女性生小孩的计划。但一项新研究表明，这种挑战对出生于上世纪六七十年代的“X世代”的女性来说尤其大。

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.

根据上周发布的一项对2,952名大学文化程度白领工人进行的研究，在33岁至46岁、技能熟练的X世代女白领中，高达43%的人还没有孩子。

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这项研究由工作-生活政策中心（Center for Work-Life Policy）委托Knowledge Networks进行。该中心说，研究显示，每周工作60小时或以上的严苛工作日程的压力，以及执着的事业追求、沉重的债务负担和萧条的经济是这种现象的原因。该结论是根据调查、焦点小组讨论和一对一访谈得出的。

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.

当然，据美国人口普查局（Census Bureau）称，现在女性组建家庭的时间一般比过去晚，她们用更多时间来完成教育或开创事业。根据美国国家卫生统计中心（National Center for Health Statistics）发布的数据，在1970年至2006年间，美国女性初次生育的平均年龄提高了3.6岁，达到了25岁。最近，就业市场的衰退和萧条也对人们推迟成家计划有影响，正如前文提到的那样。

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.

这些白领职员的生育模式与整体人口有差异。根据美国人口普查局最具可比性也是最新的2010年数据，在30岁至44岁的女性中，只有18.8%至29.7%的人还没有生孩子。

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.

这表明工作压力可能的确有影响。与前几代人相比，生于1965年至1978年的X世代还肩负着毕业后偿还学生贷款的沉重负担，这些年轻人经历了几次经济兴衰的周期，还有一次严重的房地产危机。所有这些因素都让成家和提供住房与教育这些基本条件显得更困难。

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

这项研究称，在工作要求和个人义务之间寻找平衡让他们工作过重、压力过大、疲劳过度。

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，研究人员称，压力也让X世代的适应力更强。他们为自己定下高远的目标。在受调查者中，75%的X世代女性和72%的X世代男性将自己描述为有雄心壮志的人。但他们晋升管理层的道路上还挡着出生于婴儿潮时期的老员工，后者中的许多人如果退休就无力生活，因此许多X世代在事业发展上都遇到了挫折。该研究称，近半数的X世代感到在事业上停滞不前。43%的X世代还说，他们偿还学生贷款的能力在职业选择中起到了重要作用。

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.

该发现让人回想起较早的婴儿潮世代在20世纪70年代至80年代的生育模式，他们中一些人由于管理工作的压力而放弃了要孩子。1982年的一项研究发现，只有39%的女性高管有孩子。不过到20世纪90年代初，当为人母者同时担任管理者的现象变得更为人们所接受、也更为普遍时，该比例上升到了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?

读者们，你们认为繁重的工作会妨碍女性要孩子或导致她们推迟生孩子吗？学生贷款是重要因素吗？工作量、事业追求或债务是否影响了你的成家决定？