File photo of a working mother with her child. Working mothers want to earn a good salary, put a higher priority on getting some help around the house than at the office, and undervalue their work at home. |
Working mothers want to earn a good salary, put a higher priority on getting some help around the house than at the office, and undervalue their work at home, surveys released on Tuesday showed. Salary is the key factor when job-hunting, according to women who work outside the home, but a family-friendly office, job enjoyment and flexible schedules are also priorities, a survey from iVillage and TODAY.com showed. Eight out of 10 working mothers earn at least half of their household's income, it said. A majority of women also are responsible for most household chores, prompting about 70 percent to say they would prefer an assistant at home over one at the office. "Unfortunately, what working moms have the least time for is themselves," said Kelly Wallace, chief correspondent for iVillage. Work and home pressures leave nearly half of working mothers feeling unhealthy, and about 40 percent said they do not have enough time with their children, the survey showed. A Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. survey estimated that around the house, women log more hours cooking and cleaning than men but undervalue their contributions in dollar terms. Men and women both say they do about $25,000 worth of household chores, but Penn Mutual found women spent more time than men per week on every chore from walking the dog to doing laundry. The insurance company calculated the median value for a woman's contribution to the home is closer to $34,000, as opposed to just over $19,000 for a man. Mothers and single women, in particular, short-change their contributions around the house, it said. Penn Mutual estimated the work a mother with a young child does around the house at about $45,000 but said those women perceived their worth at just $29,000. More than half of women surveyed underestimated their worth by at least $10,000, the survey showed. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
|
本周二公布的最新調查顯示,職場媽媽們想要賺得高薪水,更想在家庭中而不是工作中多個幫手,而且低估自己所做家務事的價值。 iVillage和TODAY.com網站開展的調查顯示,職業女性找工作時,考慮的關鍵問題是工資,但友好的辦公室環境、工作樂趣、以及彈性工作時間也是優先考慮因素。 調查稱,五分之四的職場媽媽的薪水至少占到家庭收入的一半。 多數女性還要負責做大部分家務事,這使得大約70%的受訪女性稱,她們更愿意雇個保姆,而不是辦公室助理。 iVillage網站的首席記者凱利?華萊士說:“不幸的是,職場媽媽留給自己的時間最少了。” 調查顯示,來自工作和家庭的壓力使得近半數職場媽媽感覺不健康,大約40%稱自己沒有足夠的時間陪孩子。 佩恩互助保險公司的調查估計,在家里,女性花更多的時間做飯、打掃衛生,但如果折合成金錢,總是低估自己的貢獻。 男性和女性都表示自己做的家務事價值2.5萬美元,但佩恩互助保險公司發現,從溜狗到洗衣,女性每周里在每件家務事上花費的時間都多于男性。 該保險公司計算,女性對家庭的貢獻平均折合為接近3.4萬美元,而男性的貢獻僅僅折合1.9萬美元。 尤其是媽媽們和單身女性總是低估自己對家庭的貢獻。 佩恩公司估計,帶著年幼孩子的女性所做的家務價值4.5萬美元,但這些女性認為價值僅有2.9萬美元。 調查還表明,半數以上的女性對自己所做家務的價值至少低估了1萬美元。 相關閱讀 (中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯: 馮明惠) |
Vocabulary: short-change: to treat unfairly or dishonestly, esp by giving less than is deserved or expected(虧待,克扣) |