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U.S. companies are lagging behind not just progressive Scandinavians but also businesses in emerging markets. Companies in countries just now shaping their economies have higher percentages of women business leaders than in the U.S.
全世界的企業都需要進一步對女性敞開大門。美國企業本應在這方面發揮帶頭作用。但它們并沒有做到這一點。美國在這方面不僅落后于不斷改進的斯堪的納維亞半島，也走在新興市場后面。在經濟剛剛成形的國家，女性在企業管理層所占的比重也要高于美國。
Not only does the U.S. lag behind several emerging market countries in terms of female leadership on company boards, but the gap extends to other executive roles. According to a 2013 report by Grant Thornton, only 20% of senior corporate leaders in the U.S. are women. Other G7 countries didn't fare so well either -- take Japan (7%) and the United Kingdom (19%).
和一些新興市場國家相比，美國不僅女性董事長偏少，在其他管理職位上也存在差距。格蘭特桑頓會計師事務所（Grant Thornton）今年公布的一份報告顯示，在美國企業高級管理者中，女性只占20%。七國集團（G7）其他成員的表現也不算好——日本和英國的女性公司領導者比重分別為7%和19%。
The country with the most women in high places? China. Over half of corporate leaders in China are women. Estonia (40%), Vietnam (33%), and Botswana (32%) rank in the top 10.
哪個國家女性企業領導者所占的比重最高呢？中國。在中國，一半以上的公司管理者都是女性。排名前十的國家還包括愛沙尼亞（40%）、越南（33%）和博茨瓦納（32%）。
"I'm surprised that they're making as much progress as they are, " says Erica O'Malley, a partner at Grant Thornton.
格蘭特桑頓會計師事務所合伙人艾麗卡•奧馬利說：“這些國家取得這么大的進步讓我感到意外。”
How are these nations making such progress?
它們是怎樣取得這樣的進步呢？
First off, national cultures that may appear conservative on the surface are in fact more complex. In a 2012 paper called "Cultural constraints on the emergence of women as leaders, " authors Geoffrey Leonardelli and Soo Min Toh, both associate professors at the University of Toronto, explore the effects of cultural rigidity related to female leadership. So-called '"tight" cultures punish members of the group from deviating from cultural norms. In general, culturally inflexible countries do not support women leaders.
首先，表面上看似保守的國家文化實際上更加復雜。2012年，多倫多大學（University of Toronto）兩位副教授杰弗里•萊昂納爾德利和蘇敏竇發表了一篇論文，題為《文化對女性成為領導者的制約》（Cultural constraints on the emergence of women as leaders）。文中探討了文化成見對女性發揮領導作用的影響。他們指出，所謂的“緊繃型”文化會對偏離常態的成員進行懲罰。總的來說，文化彈性較低的國家都不支持女性成為領導者。
But there are exceptions to this tendency. Namely, when countries with traditional gender norms implement government mandates or top-down rules about gender equity in business, they tend to take hold. For example, in 2011, Malaysia's cabinet approved a law mandating that companies based in the country include one-third female representation on corporate boards within the next five years. The punishment for failure is harsh: Companies that don't make the cut risk being delisted.
但也有例外。具體來說，在執政領域對性別比例有傳統規范或者自上而下地規定企業中男女比例需達到均衡的國家在這方面往往更勝一籌。比如，2011年馬來西亞政府通過法令，要求馬來西亞公司在五年內使女性董事所占的比例達到三分之一。未能達到要求的公司將面臨嚴厲懲罰：它們有可能被勒令退市。
But this is America. U.S. companies don't respond well to government mandates to change the status quo. And that status was solidified in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. America's second industrial revolution was fueled by steel, coal, and oil and designed by men.
但美國與眾不同。美國企業并沒有積極響應政府改變現狀的指令，反而還在19世紀末和20世紀初對現狀加以鞏固。美國的第二次工業革命由鋼鐵、煤炭和石油推動，而設計者則都是男性。
The world has since changed, but cultural norms stick around long after they're relevant, especially given the tendency of people in power to surround themselves with people who think like them.
此后，時移世易。但文化規范一旦形成，它在很長一段時間里都將難以打破。如果掌權者傾向于讓那些在他們覺得支持自己的人圍繞在自己身邊，在這種情況下就更難打破。
Emerging markets don't face that problem in the same way. Many are undergoing their very own industrial revolutions right now, and even culturally conservative countries by 2013 standards probably look like socially progressive free-love fests compared to the buttoned-up division of labor prevalent in turn-of-the-century America.
新興市場不存在這樣的問題。許多新興市場目前正在進行自己的工業革命。按照2013年的標準，一些國家的文化顯得較為保守；但在勞動分工領域，和世紀之交處處保守的美國相比，就連這些國家看起來可能都像是出現了推動社會前進的“性解放運動”。
Emerging market economies also have more opportunities to hire women since they are growing, O'Malley says. "If you look at more traditional-valued countries who you think would struggle with putting women in leadership rules, they're also the growth countries, so they're creating new jobs." As these nations are developing their business cultures, women are entering the workforce in high places from the get-go.
女性在處于增長狀態的新興市場經濟體所獲得的就業機會也較多。奧馬利指出：“大家可能認為那些價值觀較為傳統的國家會糾結于是否讓女性擔任領導工作，但觀察一下這些國家就會發現，它們都是增長型經濟體，也就是說它們都在創造就業機會。”隨著這些國家形成自己的企業文化，女性剛剛進入勞動力大軍時就會處于較高層次。
The U.S. has less of a clean slate, and will have to quickly come up with an alternative to top-down government mandates to encourage the appointment of senior-level women at corporations. "It would not be a good business strategy to sit and wait," O'Malley says.
美國在這方面的法令比較模糊，因此必須迅速用其他方法來取代自上而下的政令，以便鼓勵企業在高級管理職位上聘用女性。奧瑪利說：“消極坐等可不是什么好的公司策略。”
