新奇事件簿 职场母亲是否面临歧视?

More than one in four British mothers who have returned to work feel discriminated¹ against. This is according to a survey conducted by the legal firm Slater and Gordon (S&G). Researchers questioned 1,975 women about their experiences in the workplace before and after giving birth. Most of the women had never filed any kind of complaint as they suspected it would be a waste of time and be even more detrimental² to their career prospects³. Grievances⁴ aired in the survey included mothers being overlooked for promotion⁵, and more junior employees progressing faster up the career ladder. Another common gripe was their points of view being considered less worthy⁶ than those of colleagues without children.

超过四分之一重返职场的英国母亲感到被歧视。这是司法公司Slater and Gordon一份调查得出的结果。研究人员询问了1975名女性生育前后在职场的遭遇。大部分从未作过任何投诉，因为她们认为这纯属浪费时间，对职场前景更加不利。调查中人们感觉到的不满包括母亲在晋升职位时被忽视，较低级的员工在职场上比她们晋升更快。另外一个抱怨就是他们的观点被认为不如没有孩子的员工的观点更有价值。

The findings contrast with the opinions of managers and employers. A director at Britain's Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said: "We don't recognise the picture painted here. Our experience is that businesses are better than ever at managing maternity⁷ leave and reintegrating mothers on their return." The UK's employment minister Jo Swinson said: "The government is committed to making sure that more businesses make the best use of women's talents throughout the organisation⁸, from boardroom to the shop floor." S&G lawyer Kiran Daurka said: "It is shocking that so few women speak out when they suffer discrimination." She accused employers of avoiding the issues and of "burying their heads in the sand".

该发现与经理和雇主的观点截然相反。英国工业联盟一位理事表示：“我们没有意识到这种现象。我们的经验是，企业在产假和鼓励母亲重返职场方面做得比以往更好。”英国就业关系部长史温森(Jo Swinson)表示：“政府致力于确保更多企业充分利于女性的智慧，从会议室到车间。”S&G律师Kiran Daurka表示：“当女性遭遇歧视时很少人说出来，我们感到非常震惊。”她指控雇主们逃避这个问题，采取鸵鸟政策。

1 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

2 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

6 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

7 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。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。