縮小兩性差距
Emily and John are coworkers. They are chatting.
艾蜜莉和約翰是同事。他們正在聊天。
John: Hi Emily. I heard that you are going to take the afternoon off?
約翰：嗨，艾蜜莉，我聽說你今天下午要休假啊？
Emily: Yes, I’m going to participate in the Women’s March. Today is March 8th, International Women’s Day.
艾蜜莉：是啊，我要去參加婦女節遊行，今天是3月8號國際婦女節。
participate in~參加=take part in~=join
John: So does that mean you are a feminist?
約翰：所以這代表你也是位女性主義者囉？
feminist(n.)女性主義者feminism(n.)女性主義
Emily: Well…, you can say that I am a feminist, but I don’t like to be labeled. I just feel that although Taiwan has gender equality laws, and, of course, a female president, we still have a long way to go before gender equality is truly achieved in the country.
艾蜜莉：嗯⋯⋯，你可以說我是個女性主義者，但我不喜歡被貼標籤。我只是覺得，雖然台灣有性別平等法，當然，我們有位女總統，但離性別平等能夠在這個國家真正落實，還有很長的路要走。
label(v.)貼標籤gender equality性別平等
John: I fully agree with you. I just read a news report about the gender wage gap in Taiwan. The Ministry of Labor said that the pay difference between women and men in Taiwan was 14 percent last year. That means women on average have to work 52 extra days to earn the same wages as men.
約翰：我完全同意你的說法。最近我讀到一則關於台灣兩性薪資差距的報導，勞動部説台灣去年的兩性薪資差距是14％，這代表女性平均下來必須比男性多工作52天，才能與男性有同等薪資。
gender wage gap性別薪資差距on average平均而言
Emily: That’s so unfair. A lot of women still earn less than men for doing the same job. The government needs to do more to address pay inequality.
艾蜜莉：這很不公平耶，許多女性和男性做一樣的工作，薪水還是比較低，政府需要更努力才能解決薪資不平等的問題。
John: The good news is Taipei City government’s labor department has introduced a set of policies to narrow the gender wage gap. They have received almost 100 complaints about gender discrimination in the workplace last year. And they have conducted labor inspections for gender inequality....
約翰：好消息是，台北市勞動局已實行了一套政策，要縮小兩性薪資的差距。他們在去年收到將近100則職場性別歧視的申訴，也對各公司進行性別平等勞動檢查⋯⋯
policy(n.)政策narrow the gap 縮小差距gender discrimination性別歧視conduct(v.)進行=carry outinspection(n.)稽查、檢查、視察
Emily: Wow, that’s quite impressive. What about female employees receiving hostile treatment when they become pregnant? Some of them got paid less after taking leave without pay. Is the city government also dealing with this issue?
艾蜜莉：哇，聽起來成效滿好的。那因為懷孕而受到不公平待遇的女性勞工呢？有些人因為留職停薪薪水變少，市政府也有配套方案嗎？
hostile(adj.)不友好的;敵對的=unfriendlytake leave without pay留職停薪deal with~=tackle=handle=address對付;應付;處理
John: Yes, the city government is increasing the number of childcare facilities and non-profit daycare centers. They hope to reduce the childcare burden on female employees to eliminate gender discrimination in the workplace.
約翰：有的，市政府正在增加育兒設施和非營利幼兒園的數量，希望能夠減少女性受僱者的育兒負擔，消除職場上的性別歧視。
increase(v.)增加facility(n.)設施non-profit(adj.)非營利的daycare centers托兒所=nurserykindergarten(n.)幼稚園eliminate(v.)消除=weed out=root out=eradicate
Emily: That sounds like a good policy. But we have to be aware that much work still needs to be done before the goal of gender equality is reached. That’s why I am joining the Women’s March!
艾蜜莉：聽起來是不錯的政策，但我們必須意識到在性別平等落實前，還有很多需要努力的地方，這就是為什麼我要參加婦女節遊行的原因！
be aware that…意識到…