美国国家公共电台 NPR--Women are earning more money. But they're still picking up a heavier load at home

Women are earning more money. But they're still picking up a heavier load at home

Transcript¹

A new report confirms what many already know to be true: Women are bringing home the bacon and frying it up too.

Even as their contributions to family incomes have grown in recent years, women in opposite-sex marriages are still doing more housework and caregiving than men, a report from the Pew Research Center has found.

Moreover, in 2023, a majority of people believe society still values men's contributions at work more than their contributions at home, according to the report, which was based on three different national surveys.

"I think public attitudes are kind of lagging behind the economic realities that husbands and wives are facing these days," says Kim Parker, director of social trends research at the Pew Research Center.

The share of men who are the primary or sole breadwinners in their families has fallen as women have entered the labor² force in large numbers, broken into lucrative³ occupations and outpaced men in educational attainment⁴, Parker says.

What Pew calls "egalitarian marriages" are on the rise.

Last year, 29% of marriages were "egalitarian," with husbands and wives each contributing roughly half of the couple's combined earnings⁵. That compares to little more than 10% in 1972.

But in "egalitarian marriages," wives are still spending more than double the amount of time on housework than their husbands (4.6 hours per week for women vs. 1.9 hours per week for men), and almost two hours more per week on caregiving, including tending to children.

Husbands, meanwhile, spend roughly three hours more per week than their wives on paid work, and three and a half hours more on leisure activities.

"We've seen a narrowing of the gap over the years with men taking on more hours of housework and childcare as more women have gone into the workplace," says Parker.

"But that imbalance — we still see it today. It's definitely not equal."

An imbalance rooted in attitudes about where women and men belong

That can partly be blamed on attitudes and expectations about the roles of men and women at work and home, Parker says.

More than half (57%) of the 5,152 people Pew surveyed said society puts more stock in what men do at work. Only 7% said they think society values what men do at home more.

Meanwhile, only 20% of respondents said society values what women do at work more, whereas 31% said society values women's contributions at home more. (The remaining share said society values contributions to work and home equally.)

Younger Americans were the most likely to say that the contributions women make at home are valued more by society.

"They're almost more cynical⁶ about it," says Parker, noting older Americans are more likely to say society values women's contributions in both spheres equally.

"Maybe they've witnessed the change over their lifetime," she says. "Whereas for young people — they might just see the imbalance now, but they haven't lived through the arc of advancements⁷ women have made in the workplace."

The new head of the Institute for Women's Policy Research says that she's heartened by the increasing attention being given to persistent⁸ imbalances in American marriages.

"I think that in the past, there was an assumption that there were certain roles that you play, and that's what women do, whether you make more or make less," says Daisy Chin-Lor, who herself earned as much as — and then more than — her husband during her long corporate⁹ career, and still carried a heavier workload¹⁰ at home.

"In today's world, I see my son taking much more of an active role in being a parent because he wants to, because he can."

Most Americans believe children do well when mom and dad focus equally on work and home

A broad majority of survey participants — 77% — said children of working parents are better off when both mom and dad focus equally on work and home.

Only 1 in 5 said children are better off when dad is more focused on his job and mom is more focused on home life.

Only 1 in 50 said the reverse — that children are better off when mom is more focused on work and dad is home taking care of things.

Within that data there are sizable differences in opinion depending on a respondent's political leanings. More Democrats¹¹ than Republicans say it's better for both parents to be focused equally on job and home (85% of Democrats vs. 68% of Republicans), and close to 3 in 10 Republicans feel children are better off when dads are more focused on work and mom more on children and the home.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

4 attainment   

n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣

参考例句：

• We congratulated her upon her attainment to so great an age.我们祝贺她高寿。
• The attainment of the success is not easy.成功的取得并不容易。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

7 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》