职场女性要工作还是要孩子?

It's long been known that high-powered careers can hamper or delay women's plans to have children. But a new study suggests the challenges loom especially large for women of Generation X.

人们早就知道，高端职业会阻碍或推迟女性生小孩的计划。但一项新研究表明，这种挑战对出生于上世纪六七十年代的“X世代”的女性来说尤其大。

A full 43% of skilled white-collar Gen X women, ages 33 to 46 years old, haven't yet had children based on a study of 2,952 college-educated white-collar workers released last week.

根据上周发布的一项对2,952名大学文化程度白领工人进行的研究，在33岁至46岁、技能熟练的X世代女白领中，高达43%的人还没有孩子。

The study conducted for the Center for Work-Life Policy, by Knowledge Networks, suggests the pressures imposed by demanding work schedules of 60 hours or more a week, along with strong career ambitions, heavy debt loads and the sluggish economy, are among the reasons, according to the Center. The conclusions are based on a survey, focus-group discussions and one-on-one interviews.

Getty Images这项研究由工作-生活政策中心（Center for Work-Life Policy）委托Knowledge Networks进行。该中心说，研究显示，每周工作60小时或以上的严苛工作日程的压力，以及执着的事业追求、沉重的债务负担和萧条的经济是这种现象的原因。该结论是根据调查、焦点小组讨论和一对一访谈得出的。

Of course, women in general are starting families later than they did in the past, using the extra years to finish their education or build a career, the Census Bureau says. The average age of U.S. women giving birth for the first time rose 3.6 years between 1970 and 2006 to 25 years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. More recently, the recession and sluggish job market have also played a role in people's delaying plans to start a family, as we have posted before.

当然，据美国人口普查局（Census Bureau）称，现在女性组建家庭的时间一般比过去晚，她们用更多时间来完成教育或开创事业。根据美国国家卫生统计中心（National Center for Health Statistics）发布的数据，在1970年至2006年间，美国女性初次生育的平均年龄提高了3.6岁，达到了25岁。最近，就业市场的衰退和萧条也对人们推迟成家计划有影响，正如前文提到的那样。

The childbearing patterns of these white-collar workers depart from those of the population as a whole. Only 18.8% to 29.7% of women ages 30 to 44 years haven't yet had children, based on the most closely comparable and most recent Census Bureau data from 2010.

这些白领职员的生育模式与整体人口有差异。根据美国人口普查局最具可比性也是最新的2010年数据，在30岁至44岁的女性中，只有18.8%至29.7%的人还没有生孩子。