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Never has this been clearer than during the pandemic.
從未有時候像此次的疫情一樣將這一問題暴露得如此徹底。
Although in 2017, 41% of mothers were the sole or primary breadwinner for their family
盡管2017年時，有41%的母親所在的家庭全靠她一人或主要靠她養家，
and an additional 23.2% brought home at least a quarter of their total household earnings,
還有23.2%的母親貢獻了至少四分之一的家庭收入，
the loss of most outside support—from school, from camp, from day care—has meant that mothers are the ones picking up the slack.
失去外部——學校、營地和日托中心等——的大部分支持就意味著母親們成了收拾殘局的人。
A recent study of about 60,000 U.S. households published in the academic journal Gender, Work & Organization
近日發表在學術期刊《性別、工作和組織》上的一項針對大約6萬個美國家庭的研究顯示，
showed that in heterosexual couples where both partners were employed,
伴侶雙方都有工作的異性伴侶中，
mothers "have reduced their work hours four to five times more than fathers."
母親一方“工作時間減少的量是父親一方的四到五倍”。
There’s no reason to believe this will get better—and plenty of reasons to suspect it will get worse—
沒有理由能讓我們相信這一問題會得到改善——懷疑這一問題還會變得更糟的理由倒是有很多——
as school districts announce back-to-school plans that are all remote or a hybrid of online and in person.
因為學區宣布的復課計劃要么都是遠程的，或者就是線上線下結合的。
The drive to reopen the economy without adequate childcare will force women from the workforce in record numbers.
缺乏足夠的照顧兒童措施就重啟經濟的欲望會迫使大批女性退出勞動力大軍。
Society will call it a choice, when in reality, it’s a failure of the system.
社會會說這是一種選擇，實際上則是制度的一大敗筆。
This is not a new problem, nor are the solutions a mystery.
問題不是新問題，解決問題的辦法也不是沒想出來。
We’ve just chosen until now not to listen.
只不過，時至今日，我們還在選擇視而不見。
It’s time to abolish our conception of what it means to be a mother in America and rebuild it on a policy level.
是時候廢除美國當前對母親的認知，重新從政策層面構建這一概念了。
First, we need to normalize women receiving help with childcare.
首先，我們要用平常心來看待女性接受育兒幫助一事。
We are the only industrialized nation without guaranteed paid parental leave,
我們是唯一一個沒有固定帶薪產假的工業化國家，
and for half of Americans, full-time day care costs more than in-state college tuition.
而且，就一半的美國人的生活水平而言，全日制托兒服務的費用比所在州的大學學費還要昂貴。
Additionally, other industrialized nations offer income supplements to help raise children or subsidies for childcare costs.
不僅如此，其他工業化國家還提供了幫助撫養孩子的收入補貼，或補貼育兒費。
We do not.
我們則沒有。
This disregard has continued even in these unprecedented times.
即便是在（新冠疫情）這個史無前例的時期，這一漠視也沒有停止。
As economist Betsey Stevenson pointed out to Politico,
正如經濟學家貝齊·史蒂文森對Politico（網站）指出的那樣，
"We gave less money to the entire childcare sector than we gave to one single airline, Delta."
“我們給整個育兒部門的錢都沒有給達美航空這一家航空公司的的錢多?！?/p>
The U.S. also ranks 26th in the world for access to preschool for 4-year-olds, and 24th for 3-year-olds.
就4歲和3歲兒童接受學前教育的機會而言，美國的世界排名也已經排到了26位和24位。
But access to early childhood education rarely becomes a top policy priority.
然而，接受幼兒教育的機會問題從來都沒能引起政策方面的特別重視。
The implication is clear: Mom will take care of it.
言下之意很清楚：媽媽們自己會處理好這個問題的。
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