While it's hard to predict how an individual will react to becoming a parent, it's easy to predict society's reaction.
一个人升格为家长之后的反应很难预测,但我们很容易看到社会对他们的期待。
When a couple announces that they are having a baby, everyone says "Congratulations!" to the man
当一对夫妇宣布有了孩子以后,每个人都会对男人说“恭喜”,
and "Congratulations! What are you planning on doing about work?" to the woman.
对女人则会说:“恭喜啊!不过你对工作有什么打算?”
The broadly held assumption is that raising their child is her responsibility.
人们普遍认为养育孩子就应该是女人的责任。
In more than thirty years, this perception has changed very little.
30多年以来,这种观念一直没什么变化。
A survey of the Princeton class of 1975 found that 54 percent of the women foresaw work-family conflict compared to 26 percent of the men.
根据对普林斯顿大学1975年毕业生的调查发现,有54%的女性预见到工作与家庭的矛盾,而男性的比例则是26%。
The same survey of the Princeton class of 2006 found that 62 percent of the women anticipated work-family conflict compared to only 33 percent of the men.
对普林斯顿大学2006年毕业生的同一调查发现,62%的女性预料到了这个矛盾,男性只有33%。
Three decades separate the studies and still nearly twice as many women as men enter the workforce anticipating this stumbling block.
尽管两项调查间隔30年,但抱着对这个绊脚石的心理预期进入职场的女性几乎一直是男性的两倍。
Even in 2006, 46 percent of the men who anticipated this conflict expected their spouse to step off her career track to raise their children.
甚至在2006年,预计到这个冲突的男性中有46%的人希望自己的配偶放弃工作去抚养孩子,
Only 5 percent of the women believed their spouse would alter his career to accommodate their child.
只有5%的女性相信自己的配偶会为家庭在事业上做出调整。
Personal choices are not always as personal as they appear.
个人选择其实并不总是像表面上那么个人化。
We are all influenced by social conventions, peer pressure, and familial expectations.
社会的习俗传统、来自同辈人的压力、家人的期望等,都会对我们产生影响。
On top of these forces, women who can afford to drop out of the workplace often receive not just permission but encouragement to do so from all directions.
最重要的是,在经济情况允许的条件下,女性退出职场从社会各方得到的不仅是允许,还有鼓励。