VOA标准英语2018--数字技术或妨碍妇女赋权

Technology Crucial to Women's Empowerment

The Administration of President Donald Trump¹ has placed a focus on women's economic opportunities, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

That's because even though there is no better way to strengthen the economy than to boost women's participation² in the workforce³, still, too often women face barriers to success. One persistent⁴ problem is women's lack of access to digital technology, said USAID's Senior Coordinator⁵ for Gender⁶ Equality and Women's Empowerment, Michelle Bekkering.

“In developing countries it is estimated that 70 percent of women-owned small and medium size businesses are still denied access to the capital they need. Nearly one in two women are shut off from the internet.”

“In all of our conversations we're recognizing that technology is ... the great equalizer. Technology is offering us... an acceleration⁷ of impact in areas where change had been taking a very long time,” said Ms. Bekkering.

Unfortunately, even as the world becomes ever more digital, women and girls lag far behind boys and men in access to technology, particularly the internet. “If you look right now at the gap around the world, 1.7 billion women in the developing world are still unconnected to the internet. And so if you look at the figures – [the] Intel[Corporation] has predicted that if you could even bring 600 million women online, that could add an average of between 13 to 18 billion dollars in GDP to 144 developing countries,” said Ms. Bekkering.

Although this is a common problem globally, the reasons for the digital gender gap vary. A recurrent one is high costs of mobile phones and service. In the developing world, some 200 million fewer women than men own a mobile phone, the most common means of Internet access there.

USAID is looking at solutions to bring down the costs, such as offering two SIM cards for the price of one, and using-solar powered charging stations in off-the electric grid⁸ regions. We are also working with people who live under these conditions who have a lot of great ideas for improvements.

“USAID,” said Senior Coordinator Bekkering, “is working to break down these barriers to allow women the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

8 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。