向前一步:第224期 为平等而不懈努力(3)

 Of course, many men take big jobs when their wives are weeks away from giving birth, and no one raises it as an issue, 当然，很多男人在自己妻子休产假时会被委以重任，没人觉得这是多重要的问题。

but Marissa's condition quickly became headline news. 然而，迈耶很快就成了头条新闻，

She was heralded¹ as the first pregnant CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Feminists² cheered. 她被媒体称作“财富500强企业里第一位怀孕的首席执行官”。女权主义者为此欢呼。

Then Marissa let it be known: "My maternity³ leave will be a few weeks long, and I'll work throughout it." 随后，迈耶宣布：“我会休两个星期的产假，这期间我也不会中断工作。”

Many feminists stopped cheering. 于是，许多女权主义者停止了欢呼。

Since taking such a short leave is not feasible or desirable for everyone, 不是每个人都会休这么短的产假，也不是每个人都愿意这么做。

they argued that Marissa was hurting the cause by setting up unreasonable⁴ expectations. 她们认为迈耶的做法会给女性提出不合理的期望，这对女权主义事业是一种损害。

So was this one giant leap forward for womankind and one baby step back? Of course not. 那么，对女性来说，这算不算一种打了折扣的进步？当然不是。

Marissa became the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company ...while pregnant. 玛丽萨·迈耶成了财富500强企业中最年轻的首席执行官，而且是在怀孕期间被任命的。

She decided⁵ how she wanted to manage her career and family and never claimed that her choice should apply to anyone else. 她已经想好怎么处理事业和家庭的关系，而且从没说过自己的做法适用于每位女性。

If she had cut Yahoo's maternity leave to two weeks for all employees, then concern would have been in order. 如果她要求雅虎的每个员工都只休两个星期的产假，那么人们的担心肯定是有道理的。

She did not do this, but she was still roundly criticized. 尽管她没这么做，但还是招来了批评声，

Even a European cabinet member weighed in. 甚至一个欧洲内阁成员也加入了争论。

Like any individual, Marissa knows best what she is capable of given her particular circumstances. 和任何人一样，迈耶心里最清楚自己是否有能力处理她的特殊情况。

And as journalist Kara Swisher also noted⁶, Marissa "has a husband who can actually take care of the child, and no one seems to remember that." 正如记者卡拉·斯威舍所说，迈耶“有一个能真正照顾好孩子的丈夫，但好像没人注意到这一点”。

 

1 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 feminists   

n.男女平等主义者，女权扩张论者( feminist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Only 16 percent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists. 在1990年的一项调查中，只有16%的年轻女性认为自己是女权主义者。 来自辞典例句
• The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists. 这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。 来自辞典例句

3 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

4 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。