Passage Five
Ever since 2003, when Lisa Belkin’s article in The Times Magazine about highly privileged and high—achieving moms — “The Opt—Out Revolution” — was generalized by the news media to claim that mothers overall were choosing to leave the work force, researchers have been revisiting the state of mothers’ employment and reaching very similar conclusions.
In 2005, the Motherhood Project published a report that said most mothers, given free choice, would choose to be employed — provided their employment didn’t take up too much time. Approximately two—thirds said they’d ideally work part—time or from home; only 16 percent said they’d prefer to work full—time.
Sociologist David Cotter looked carefully at four decades of employment data and found that women with choices — those with college education — were overwhelmingly choosing, to stay in the work force. The only women “opting out” in any significant numbers were the very richest and the very poorest.
You might say that the movement of the richest women out of the work force proves that women will, in the best of all possible worlds, go home. But these women often have husbands who work 70 or 80 hours a week and travel extensively; someone has to be home. They are privileged, it’s true, but very often they have also been cornered by the all—or—nothing non—choices of our workplaces.
The alternative narrative — of constricted horizons, not choice — that might have emerged from recent research has never really made it into the mainstream. It just can’t, it seems, find a foothold. “The reason we keep getting this narrative is that there is this deep cultural ambivalence about mothers’ employment,” said Cotter. “On the one hand, people believe women should have equal opportunities, but on the other hand, we don’t envision men taking on more child care and housework and, unlike Europe, we don’t seem to be able to envision family—friendly work policies.”
Why this matters — and why opening this topic up for discussion is important — is very clear: because our public policy continues to rest upon a false idea, eternally recycled in the media, of mothers’ free choices, and not upon the constraints that truly drive their behavior. If journalism repeatedly frames the wrong problem, then those who make public policy may very well deliver the wrong solution. E. J. Graff, a senior researcher at Brandeis University, says, “If women are happily choosing to stay home with their babies, that’s a private decision. But it’s a public policy issue if schools, jobs and other American institutions are structured in ways that make it frustratingly difficult, and sometimes impossible, for parents to manage both their jobs and family responsibilities.”
Questions 21—25 are based on Passage Five.
21. According to Paragraph 1, what conclusion about mothers’ employment have researchers drawn?
A. The majority of mothers wanted to leave the work force.
B. The working environment was not friendly to mothers.
C. High—achieving mothers were forced to leave their jobs.
D. The employment of mothers took up too much time.
22. What do we learn about the report published by the Motherhood Project?
A. Its ideas agree with previous studies.
B. Its ideas are generally questioned by the public.
C. It addresses the real problem in mothers’ employment.
D. It contradicts the results of recent researches.
23. The phrase “opting out” in Paragraph 3 means
A. avoiding certain duties B. choosing not to work
C. deciding to leave a group D. fighting against some policies
24. According to Paragraph 5, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. European mothers take longer maternity leave than American mothers.
B. American mothers take longer maternity leave than European mothers.
C. European fathers are more involved in child care than American fathers.
D. American fathers are more involved in child care than European fathers.
25. What does the author say about the public policy concerning mothers’employment?
A. It is in line with the mainstream academic studies.
B. It is in conflict with journalistic reports.
C. It is currently based on false ideas.
D. It is extensively criticized for its inefficiency.
