育儿假申请英文经济学人双语欧洲为工人提供
发布时间：2024年05月14日 点击：[9]人次
原文标题：
Bringing up baby
Europe is giving more parental leave to its workers
And fathers are getting more
抚养婴儿
欧洲为工人提供更多育儿假
父亲的假期也越来越多
[Paragraph 1]
PARENTS OFTEN feel they can do nothing right. Whether they are too cautious or too relaxed, someone will think they are doing it wrong.
家长们常常感到自己无论做什么都是错的。无论是过于谨慎还是过于放松，总会有人认为他们的做法不对。
And the conundrums begin before childbirth: how much time to take off work afterwards?
甚至在孩子出生之前，他们就已经陷入了这种困境：产后应该休多长时间的假呢？
Too little and they will miss out on valuable time with the offspring; too long, and their boss may write them off as slackers.
如果休假太短，就会错过与孩子相处的宝贵时光；如果休假太长，又可能被老板认为是不称职的懒散员工。
It is not just parents who worry about this. Policymakers have mulled the question for decades.
不仅仅是家长们为此担忧，政策制定者们也对此问题进行了几十年的思考。
[Paragraph 2]
Most European countries have been making parental leave more generous since the 1980s.
自1980年代以来，大多数欧洲国家都在为育儿假提供更多便利。
The EU sets a statutory minimum of 14 weeks leave for mothers and, since 2022, two weeks for fathers.
欧盟规定，母亲至少享有14周的法定产假，而且从2022年开始，父亲也至少享有2周的陪产假。
But many member states offer leave that is much longer: the average across the EU is 21 weeks for women and three weeks for men, but lengths vary wildly (see top chart).
但许多欧盟成员国提供的休假时间要长得多：在欧盟范围内，女性平均产假为21周，男性为3周，但具体时长因国家而异（见图表）。
[Paragraph 3]
Paternity leave has been changing the most. Nordic countries were the first to introduce it by statute.
陪产假制度的变化最为显著。北欧国家率先通过法律引入了陪产假。
Sweden had in 1974 introduced shared paid leave that could be taken by either parent; it now amounts to 69 weeks.
早在1974年，瑞典就实行了可以由父母双方共同享有的带薪产假制度，现在总时长达到了69周。
In the 1990s Norway became the first country to reserve four weeks of the paid parental leave for fathers, and Sweden followed two years later.
1990年代，挪威成为第一个为父亲规定4周带薪育儿假的国家，2年后瑞典也紧随其后。
Every EU country has done the same since then.
从那以后，每个欧盟国家都采取了同样的做法。
[Paragraph 4]
Germany will soon become the last member state to introduce it, offering two weeks in order to comply with the recent EU rule.
德国即将成为最后一个引入陪产假的成员国，为符合欧盟最近的规定，将提供2周的陪产假。
Some countries are now making maternity leave less generous in order to fund more shareable leave, in the hope that fathers will take more.
现在，一些国家正在减少母亲产假福利，以便为更多的共享假期提供资金，希望父亲们能享受更多的陪产假期。
But in systems where leave can be shared, 90% still ends up being taken by the mother.
但在可以共享假期的制度中，90%的假期最终还是由母亲休完。
In 2021 Spain became the only country to equalise the length of maternity and paternity leave: 16 weeks for both parents.
2021年，西班牙成为唯一一个实现产假和陪产假时长相等的国家：父母双方均可以休假16周。
If parents took equal amounts of leave, that could reduce the incentive for employers to pass over women when hiring.
如果父母的休假时间相同，这就可以减少雇主在招聘时放弃女性的动机。
[Paragraph 5]
Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, has announced, in an effort to improve female labour-force participation, that he would like to change parental leave to six months for each parent; at present, including shared leave, women can get up to 42 weeks paid time with their babies.
法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙宣布，为了提高女性劳动力参与率，他计划将父母双方各自的育儿假改为6个月；目前，包括共享假期在内，女性可以享有最多42周的带薪育儿假。
There is a rough inverse correlation between the generosity of maternity leave and a mother’s propensity to work (see bottom chart).
产假福利的慷慨程度与母亲的工作意愿之间存在一定的负相关关系（见下方图）。
But many factors are in play: tradition, for example, might dictate that women remain at home, particularly if they have few career opportunities.
但这中间涉及众多因素：例如，传统观念可能让女性更倾向于留在家里，特别是在她们的职业机会有限的情况下。
[Paragraph 6]
Even the most generous system may fall short.
即便是最慷慨的制度也可能存在不足。
“If leave is not paid, it remains a benefit for rich people who can afford to take it,” says Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University.
布朗大学经济学教授艾米丽·奥斯特表示：“如果假期不带薪，它依然只是富人才能享受的福利，因为他们有能力休假。”
Mr Macron has promised more funds: “Better-paid parental leave will allow both parents to be with their children for six months,” he said in January.
马克龙承诺会提供更多资金：“带薪育儿假期能让双方父母都有6个月的时间陪伴孩子，”他在今年1月份如是说。
It may also encourage them to have more babies: a study published in 2022 found that well-paid leave can indeed boost fertility a bit.
这也可能鼓励他们生更多孩子：2022年发表的一项研究发现，带薪假期确实可以略微提高生育率。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量517左右）
原文出自：2024年3月23日The Economist》Europe版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【补充资料】（来自于网络）
各国都有产假，待遇不一。
1、德国：最长可休至孩子3岁。德国人认为，孩子出生头3年最需要父母陪伴，应创造更多机会，让初为人父母者与孩子在一起。因此，孩子3岁之前，父母都可以休“产假”。
2、俄罗斯：雇主需为产妇保留工作岗位，全薪产假140天。
3、美国：不带薪产假12周。在美国，没有母亲带薪产假一说，只有母亲不带薪产假12周，父亲也同样，这是所有工业化国家中最短的产假。而且还有一些限制，比如之前必须受雇于特定雇主12个月，期间至少工作1250个小时等。
4、日本：带薪产假为期14周。产假期间的薪水为原工资的60%，此外，父母亲一方还可以选择休一年的无薪育儿假，如果是父母轮流休育儿假，还可以多延长2个月。
5.中国：根据相关法律的规定，女职工生育享受98天产假，其中产前可以休假15天；难产的，增加产假15天；生育多胞胎的，每多生育1个婴儿，增加产假15天。女职工怀孕未满4个月流产的，享受15天产假；怀孕满4个月流产的，享受42天产假。
【重点句子】（3个）
Too little and they will miss out on valuable time with the offspring; too long, and their boss may write them off as slackers.
如果休假太短，就会错过与孩子相处的宝贵时光；如果休假太长，又可能被老板认为是不称职的懒散员工。
Most European countries have been making parental leave more generous since the 1980s.
自1980年代以来，大多数欧洲国家都在为育儿假提供更多便利。
If parents took equal amounts of leave, that could reduce the incentive for employers to pass over women when hiring.
如果父母的休假时间相同，这就可以减少雇主在招聘时放弃女性的动机。
自由英语之路