Is it true that women have never had it so good? In many ways, yes. It is no longer necessary for women to ask anyone's permission for social equality. In other words, whether it is ready or not, society no longer has the power to keep women in their place. We can see women bursting out of what used to be seen as their allotted place.

今日的妇女真的在前所未有地大放异彩吗？在很多方面，答案是肯定的。妇女再也不必乞求获得社会平等……也就是说，不管时机是否已经成熟，社会再也无力禁锢妇女了。可以看出，妇女正在跳出羁绊她们的小无地，走向社会。


This is the first generation of women who are taking their careers for granted. They are pushing up from the bottom and they are shoving into the top, taking over prominent positions like running M15, editing national newspapers and sitting as the Speaker of the House of Commons. This newfound strength comes partly from economic necessity. Once the typical European family relied on one salary, almost invariably the male one, but now most couples need two wage-packets to sustain their standard of living. Today, only 10% of families in Britain are supported by the father alone.

这是第一代不满足于家庭角色，而要在事业上有所作为的妇女。她们从最底层中来，却要攀到最高峰。她们要占据最惹人注目的职业——驾驶M15坦克，编辑国家级报刊和端坐在下院的议长席上。这支新生力量的涌现部分归功于经济的需求。曾几何时，典型的欧洲家庭模式是一人外出挣钱（几乎永远是男人）。时过境迁，现在多数家庭变为双职工，以维持一定的生活水准。在今日的英国，仅有10％的家庭靠父亲一人工作来养活全家。

In less-affluent sections of society, the change is even more striking. With the decline of the manufacturing industries that once supported huge communities of working men, families are being forced to rely on the wages of women, often working part-time and in service industries. On present trends, by 1998 more women will be employed than men.

在社会的非富裕区，这一变化更引人注目。随着为大批劳工提供就业机会的制造业的衰落，家庭不得不依赖主妇的工资收入，她们经常去从事第二职业和服务业。按目前的趋势，到1998年英国妇女的就业人数将超过男子。

待续……