“閃孕”真的能保住飯碗嗎？

Tim： Is it true that a single child can cost millions of dollars over a lifetime of spending on food， clothes， schools and hospital bills？

Sandy： Yeah. It’s pretty crazy. But do you know what’s even scarier？ How about the fear of being unemployed？ And that goes for anyone； parents， married couples， single college grads. Things are looking bleak with the financial crisis and all. Tim： Well， when you got pregnant， weren’t you afraid that you’d lose your job because the company has been struggling so much recently？

Sandy： Actually， quite the opposite. I was afraid， really afraid that our whole department was on the outs. So a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do！

Tim： What do you mean？

Sandy： ①I mean I got pregnant on purpose， knowing the company was in the red.

Tim： Why on earth would you do that？ What about that baby’s future？ Sandy： What about my future？ It’s a 3）calculated risk.

Tim： But how are the two different？

Sandy： ②Because the company can’t fire me unless it actually goes under.

Tim： Of course they can fire you. They can fire any of us.

Sandy： Not if I’m pregnant， they can’t.

Tim： Really？！ So now that you’re pregnant， the company can’t fire you， even if they wanted to？

Sandy： Not unless they can prove 4）insolvency.

Tim： That certainly is an interesting 5）loophole in China’s labor law.

Sandy： I wouldn’t exactly call it a loophole. I’d call it leveling the scales， since women are pretty much second-class around the workplace， in terms of hours and salaries.

Tim： But does this financial strategy of getting knocked up actually work？

Sandy： Worked for me and millions of others. After all， we know how much it’s gonna cost to raise a baby， so a little job 6）assurance goes a long way.

Tim： Man， I wish I could get pregnant.

Sandy： Trust me， you don’t.

Tim： Why not？

Sandy： Well， the obvious pain and discomfort aside， the company still has the right to fire me as soon as I pop this little guy out.

Tim： That sucks. But， oh， wait， it’s a boy？ Congratulations！

Sandy： Thanks. We were trying to keep it a secret， but I guess I let it slip.

Tim： Don’t worry. ③My lips are sealed. And thanks for 7）confiding in me about your—I guess I should call it a business plan. What did your 8）hubby think when you told him about your pregnancy strategy？

Sandy： He probably would’ve been against it， which is why I took a page out of the soap-opera handbook and stopped taking my birth control pills without telling him.

Tim： Oh！ Wow. Well， I guess that’s just another secret I’ll have to keep.

Sandy： You better. Or， mark my words， I will take you down.

Tim： Good God， pregnant women are terrifying！

Sandy： You have no idea…

蒂姆：人的一輩子養一個孩子在衣、食、上學和醫療費用上要花費數百萬美元，這是真的嗎？

桑迪：嗯。這是很可怕的事。但是你知道什么更恐怖嗎？那害怕被解雇這件事呢？任何人都會有這樣的擔憂——為人父母的、（還未要小孩的）夫婦、單身的大學畢業生。在經濟危機下大家的境遇都很凄涼。

蒂姆：好吧，當你懷孕了，你不怕會丟了你的飯碗嗎？因為公司最近很不景氣。

桑迪：事實上，正好相反。我很害怕，真的害怕我們整個部門都被裁員。所以一個女人要做一個女人應該做的事！

蒂姆：你什么意思？

桑迪：我的意思是，我知道公司在虧損，所以我是故意懷孕的。

蒂姆：你究竟為什么這樣做？那個孩子的未來怎么辦？

桑迪：那么我的未來呢？這是一個可預料的風險。

蒂姆：但是（懷孕與不懷孕）有什么區別呢？

桑迪：因為這樣公司就不能解雇我，除非它真的破產了。

蒂姆：他們當然能解雇你。他們可以解雇我們任何一個人。

桑迪：如果我懷孕了，他們就不能這樣做。

蒂姆：真的嗎？！那么既然你現在懷孕了，公司即使想解雇你也不行？

桑迪：不行，除非他們能夠證明公司破產了。

蒂姆：這肯定是中國勞動法的一個有趣的漏洞。

桑迪：我不會管它叫漏洞。我會把它叫作等級的提升。因為在職場中，女性在工作時間和薪酬方面的待遇都是在次位的。

蒂姆：但是懷孕這樣的經濟策略真的有用嗎？

桑迪：對我和其他數百萬人都有用。畢竟，我們知道養一個孩子得用多少錢，所以保住工作才是長遠之計。……