Although pundits and politicians, usually male, often claim that motherhood is the most important and difficult work of all,
学者和政治家（通常是男性）常常宣称做母亲是人生中最重要也是最困难的工作，
women who take time out of the workforce pay a big career penalty.
是的，那些从职场中退出的女性也为此付出了巨大的代价。
Only 74 percent of professional women will rejoin the workforce in any capacity, and only 40 percent will return to full-time jobs.
在美国，只有74%的职业女性会不顾一切重返职场，只有40%的女性会继续从事全职工作。
Those who do rejoin will often see their earnings decrease dramatically.
然而，她们会发现自己的收入戏剧化地减少了。
Controlling for education and hours worked, women's average annual earnings decrease by 20 percent if they are out of the workforce for just one year.
据调查，离开职场仅仅一年，女性的年平均收入就会下降20%；
Average annual earnings decline by 30 percent after two to three years, which is the average amount of time that professional women off-ramp from the workforce.
离职2~3年后重返职场的女性，其年平均收入将下降30%，而女性“驶出职场高速路”的平均时间正是2~3年。
If society truly valued the work of caring for children,
如果社会真正重视对孩子的培养教育，
companies and institutions would find ways to reduce these steep penalties and help parents combine career and family responsibilities.
那么各类组织机构就应该设法减少这种不合理的“罚单”，帮助社会上的所有人将事业发展和家庭责任结合起来。
All too often rigid work schedules, lack of paid family leave, and expensive or undependable child care derail women's best efforts.
同时，上班时间过于死板，带薪事假不够，以及开销昂贵或不可靠的保育人员等现实困难也无法让女性在工作中发挥出最佳水平，取得最好的工作业绩。
One miscalculation that some women make is to drop out early in their careers because their salary barely covers the cost of child care.
一些女性因为工资不足以支付育儿费用，所以早早地放弃了事业。这种做法实在得不偿失。
Child care is a huge expense, and it's frustrating to work hard just to break even.
养育孩子的确需要巨大的开销，为此辛苦地工作也让人高兴不起来，
But professional women need to measure the cost of child care against their future salary rather than their current salary.
但职业女性更需要对照未来的收入而非目前的收入来衡量育儿费用。
Anna Fieler describes becoming a mom at thirty-two as "the time when the rubber hit the road."
安娜·费勒曾把自己32岁当上妈妈的经历称为“穿着橡胶鞋底的鞋走路”。
A rising star in marketing, Anna was concerned that her after-tax salary barely covered her child care expenses.
费勒在营销领域做得刚有起色，但担心自己的税后收入养不起孩子。
"With husbands often making more than wives, it seems like higher ROI to just invest in his career," she told me.
“丈夫一般都比妻子挣得多，所以如果要更高的回报率就得在丈夫的事业上投资。”她告诉我。