VOA标准英语2013--US Working Mothers Struggle Daily to Balance Family, Career

 

US Working Mothers Struggle Daily to Balance Family, Career

Alison Barnes is getting her kids fed and ready for school as she gets ready to leave for her job.

This busy mother of three says she has been trying hard to juggle¹ the needs of her family with her work.

"Since I became a mom eight years ago I’ve definitely² had periods where I’ve been able to achieve good balance and other times when that’s been elusive,"

Barnes said.

Barnes is a partner in a Washington, D.C. law firm. That position gives her some flexibility³ in her job. She’s been able to take long maternity⁴ leaves and work just four days a week.

"I have Fridays with my children, and that’s been very important and helped me feel like I have really achieved some sense of balance," Barnes said.

Barnes is among the more fortunate women who have those options available to them, says Vicki Shabo. She is the director of work and family programs at the National Partnership⁵ for Women and Families in Washington.

"White collar workers, high-paid workers, professional workers have more flexibility than they used to. Telecommuting and policies that allow people to do work from home every once in a while or to set their own hours are increasing," Shabo said.

"For most of the women in this country, they don’t have choices about when they work or where they work or how much they’re working. They don’t have access to high quality childcare. They don’t have access to sick days, and they certainly don’t have access to paid parental⁶ leave or paid leave to take care of an ill family member," Shabo said.

And then says Shabo, there’s the issue of maternity leave, which is one of the biggest concerns for working moms.

"We are one of the few countries in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave to new moms and one of a slightly larger number that doesn’t offer paid leave to new dads," Shabo said.

"Our key workplace policy is the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act which provides 12 weeks of unpaid⁷ job-protected leave to new parents and to people who need to deal with their own serious health conditions or care for an ill child or spouse," Shabo said.

But that, says Shabo, is only a start.

"My greatest hope is that we implement⁸ a national paid family and medical leave insurance program to bring ourselves up to the level of the rest of the world," Shabo said.

No matter what their job, working mothers want what all caring parents want: a society that recognizes the value of happy, healthy children.

1 juggle   

v.变戏法，纂改，欺骗，同时做；n.玩杂耍，纂改，花招

参考例句：

• If you juggle with your accounts,you'll get into trouble.你要是在帐目上做手脚，你可要遇到麻烦了。
• She had to juggle her job and her children.她得同时兼顾工作和孩子。

2 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

3 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

4 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。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

7 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。