王麗娟譯
數十年來，女性始終認為在她們成為母親後，薪水偏低、升遷無門是雇主在懲罰她們，因此她們投訴遭到性別歧視和提出訴訟。
For decades, women who believed their employers had punished them with lower wages and missed promotions after they had become mothers have been filing gender discrimination complaints and bringing lawsuits.
現在，隨著男性肩負起家庭更多的責任，越來越多男性也訴諸法律行動，控告雇主不讓他們兼顧父職。
Now, as men shoulder more responsibilities at home, they are increasingly taking legal action against employers who they say refuse to accommodate their roles as fathers.
舊金山加州大學海斯廷斯法學院「工作生活法中心」的瓊安．威廉斯說：「大約過去5年才改變的大事是，男性突然也覺得有權為家庭請假。他們願意賭上職涯前途去實現這個想法。這是革命性的。」
"The huge thing that's changed only in about the past five years is suddenly men feel entitled to take time off for family," said Joan C.Williams, of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. "They're willing to put their careers on the line to live up to that idea. It's revolutionary."
就在上個月，美國有線電視新聞網和透納廣播公司悄悄和美國有線電視新聞網的前記者喬許．雷夫斯，就一項「平等就業機會委員會」的控告達成和解，他指控該公司的支薪育嬰假政策歧視親生父親。
Just last month, CNN and Turner Broadcasting quietly settled an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge with a former CNN correspondent, Josh Levs, who claimed that the company's paid parental leave policy discriminated against biological fathers.
2013年10月雷夫斯的女兒出生時，美國有線電視新聞網的規定為，親生母親可有10周有給假，而領養或藉由代理孕母而有子女的父母，不論性別，也都享10周有給假。相對之下，公司只給親生父親2周有給假。
At the time Levs' daughter was born, in October of 2013, CNN offered 10 weeks of paid leave to biological mothers and the same amount to parents of either gender who adopted children or relied on surrogates. By contrast, the company offered two weeks of paid leave to biological fathers.
雷夫斯的女兒早產5周，且他另有兩個幼兒。他說他覺得需要花更多時間在家，分擔妻子的照顧責任。公司拒絕給予他更多有給假後，他提出了訴訟。
Levs, whose daughter was born five weeks prematurely, already had two young children. He said he felt he needed to spend more time at home sharing in caregiving responsibilities with his wife. He filed his charge when the company refused to grant him more paid time off.
雷夫斯不得透露和解內容，但證實公司將提供2015年1月前請過陪產假的其他親生父親一些額外的有給假。公司現行（今年生效）政策是給予所有新父母6周有給照顧親人假。親生母親可另外休假6周，若仍有醫療需求，可再請假。
Levs is prevented from disclosing what he received under the settlement, but he confirms that CNN and Turner Broadcasting will provide additional paid time off to some other biological fathers who took paternity leave before January 2015. The company's current policy — which went into effect this year — gives six weeks of paid caregiving leave to all new parents. Biological mothers receive another six weeks of leave, and more if they have additional medical needs.
公司發表聲明：「透納公司因為採行家庭友善政策，是公認的領導者。美國有線電視公司對雷夫斯覺得他的關切已獲解決，且已撤銷平等就業機會委員會的控訴感到滿意。」
"Turner is a recognized leader because of its family-friendly policies," the company said in a statement. "CNN is pleased Mr. Levs feels that his concerns have been addressed and has withdrawn his EEOC charge."
近來出現一連串身為父親者因家庭責任衝突而對雇主提告的案件，雷夫斯案是最新的一件。
Levs' is the latest in a recent string of cases brought by fathers against their employers over conflicts relating to family responsibilities.
2013年，德克特律師事務所達成一樁和解案，提告人是原任該所律師的艾瑞爾．艾亞納。他說2008年他根據醫療休假法休假後遭到上司報復，停止他的工作，最終並將他解雇。他說請假原因之一是照顧懷孕期間出現自殺傾向的妻子。
The law firm Dechert settled a case in 2013 that was brought by Ariel Ayanna, a former lawyer, who said he faced retaliation from supervisors, who withheld work and ultimately fired him, after he took a leave that was covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act in 2008. He said that one reason for his leave was to help care for his wife, who was suicidal while pregnant.
艾亞納在訴狀中舉出「大男子主義」文化，指事務所「鼓勵男性律師和合夥人謹守男性的刻板角色，將家庭責任拋給女性」。
In his complaint, Ayanna cited a "macho" culture that "encourages male associates and partners to fulfill the stereotypical male role of ceding family responsibilities to women."
這些案件發生之際社會正出現一種轉變，許多父親減少工作時間，花更多時間陪伴子女。皮尤研究中心最近一項分析指出，1965到2011年間父親們有給工作時數大為減少，從平均每周42小時減為約37小時，照顧兒童的時數則從每周2.5小時增至約7小時。
The cases come against the backdrop of a societal shift in which many fathers are working less and spending more time with their children. A recent Pew Research Center analysis reported that between 1965 and 2011,fathers reduced the number of hours they devoted to paid work to about 37 from 42 each week on average and increased the number of hours they devoted to child care each week to about seven from 2.5.
先前和解的案件似乎鼓勵更多父親尋求司法救濟。
The earlier cases that have been settled appear to have encouraged more fathers to seek legal remedies.
代表艾亞納提告的蕾貝卡．龐提凱斯說，她接獲一些其他律師的諮詢。
Rebecca G. Pontikes, who represented Ayanna,said she had received inquiries from other lawyers.
她說：「他們跟我討論他們代表男性照顧親人者所提出的告訴。它並非零效應。」
"They talk to me about bringing suits they have on behalf of male caregivers," she said. "It has not been without effect."
公司即使採取合法的官方政策，仍可能吃上官司。波士頓大學組織行為學助理教授艾琳．里德在今年發表於「組織科學」期刊的研究報告中，找到了許多案例，他和一家大型顧問公司的工作人員接觸後發現，公司勸阻這些父親調整時程以兼顧父職，並且對他們會抱有這種想法覺得難以置信。
Even companies that have adopted legally defensible official policies may still face legal action. In a study reported this year in the journal Organization Science, Erin Reid, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Boston University, who gained access to workers in a large consulting firm, uncovered numerous instances in which fathers were discouraged from adjusting their schedules to accommodate parental responsibilities, coupled with a kind of disbelief that they would even entertain the idea.
里德說：「男性經歷了更明顯的歧視與敵意。」
"Men experienced more overt discrimination, hostility," Reid said.
專家表示，此一問題已超越了男女的不公平待遇，變成工作與家庭間的權衡問題。他們表示，雇主在阻撓男性認真看待育兒問題的同時，實際上也使一肩扛起這些責任的女性在職場上背負了更大汙名。
Experts say the issue goes beyond unequal treatment of men and women to a question of the trade-off between work and family. By discouraging men from taking child rearing seriously, they say, employers can effectively add to the workplace stigma of women who shoulder these responsibilities.
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