瑞典爸爸:两个月陪产假够用吗?

Jim Butcher's decision to join Sweden's army of 'latte dads' last year didn't win him any popularity contests with family and friends back home in the U.K.
英国人吉姆・布彻(Jim Butcher)去年决定加入瑞典"拿铁爸爸们"的行列，不过这个决定并没有得到他在英国的亲朋好友们的赞许。

'When I told my friends in England, they spat up their tea,' said the 35-year-old head of communications for digital-music company Spotify Ltd., which is based in Stockholm.

布彻现年35岁，在总部位于斯德哥尔摩的数字音乐公司Spotify Ltd.负责公共关系，他说，"当我这事儿告诉我英国的那些朋友时，他们把口里的茶都喷了出来。"

'They thought my out-of-office replythat I was gone for six monthswas a joke.' His father, a self-employed bricklayer, was concerned his son was jeopardizing his career.

他说，"他们以为我不在办公室的自动回复──说我要休假六个月──是在开玩笑。"他的父亲是一名个体经营的瓦工，很担心儿子这样做会威胁到自身的职业生涯。

But Mr. Butcher had a serious agenda for his half-year hiatus: Spending uninterrupted time with his newborn daughter.
不过，布彻为他暂停工作的这半年做出了很认真的安排：要把所有时间都用来陪伴自己刚出生的女儿。

Sweden's paternity-leave benefits, enjoyed by citizens and foreign residents alike, are the most generous in the worldand a debate is under way nationwide over whether to extend them even further. Sweden should require men to take a minimum of three months' leave, instead of the current two months, some politicians argue.
瑞典的产假福利是全球最优厚的，而且对待本国公民和外国居住者一视同仁──即便这样，瑞典如今还在就是否要进一步延长产假时间而在全国范围内进行着争论。一些政客主张，瑞典应该要求男性至少休三个月陪产假，而不是现在的两个月。

Fathers currently can take off work for as long as 240 days with a government-backed paycheck. Even if a father decides to take a more modest leave than allowed, he must take at least two months before the child is 8 years old to receive the government benefits.
目前在瑞典，父亲可以休长达240天的带薪陪产假，这段时间将由政府为其支付工资。即使某位父亲决定放弃一部分陪产假时间，他也必须在孩子八岁前至少休够两个月假，才有资格拿到政府支付的工资。

Scores of dads can be seen during typical business hours strolling the streets of Stockholm, Gothenburg and other big cities pushing a stroller with one hand and nursing a cup from Espresso House or Wayne's Coffee in the other. It isn't uncommon to see men feeding babies and changing diapers in Stockholm's famous Djugarden park island, which is within view of some of the city's biggest companies and financial institutions.
在平常的工作日里，在斯德哥尔摩、哥德堡以及其他瑞典大城市总能看到众多的爸爸们一手推着婴儿车、一手端着Espresso House或是Wayne's Coffee的咖啡杯在街头漫步。在斯德哥尔摩著名的动物园岛(Djugarden)上，男性在给婴儿喂奶、换尿布的情景并不鲜见，距离这个公园不远处，就是斯德哥尔摩几家最大的公司和金融机构的办公场所。

Since being instituted in 1974, the paternity-leave policy has evolved from being a mechanism to encourage women to join what was a depleted workforce in the 1970s, to serve as a tool for gender equality and home stability today.
瑞典的产假政策制定于1974年。在上世纪70年代，推出这套系统的目的是为鼓励女性加入就业大军，以改变当时女性就业不足的局面。而今这个系统已经逐步演变成为一个确保男女平等和家庭稳定的工具。

The Swedish government will pay 80% of a parent's salaryup to a cap of about $65,000for 13 months. One parent can sign over all but two of these months to the other.
瑞典政府将为父母中的一方支付13个月的工资，数额是其月薪的80%，最高不超过6.5万美元左右。父母中的一方可以在休够两个月的前提下，将剩余的全部产假时间转让给另一方。

Government statistics show the vast majority of fathers take off at least the minimum two months. And about 72% of working-age women living in Sweden are employed at least part time, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This is more than in most other countries. Iceland and NorwayNordic nations which also grant generous leave benefits, have more women in the workforce.
瑞典政府的统计数据显示，大多数的父亲都会休够这至少两个月的底限产假时间。而根据经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)的数据，大约72%在瑞典居住的工作年龄女性有工作，包括全职工作和兼职工作。这个比例比其他大多数国家都要高。只有冰岛和挪威这两个北欧国家的女性就业比例高于瑞典，而这两个国家的休假福利也同样十分优厚。