????2011年，謝莉爾?桑德伯格重返母校哈佛商學(xué)院（Harvard Business School）發(fā)表演講。演講過程中，她對一位MBA學(xué)員提問給出的回答，令現(xiàn)場陷入了沉默。桑德伯格說道：“如果當(dāng)前的趨勢繼續(xù)下去，15年后，現(xiàn)場的女性當(dāng)中，只有三分之一會從事全職工作，而且，你們基本上都是在給坐在旁邊的男生們打工。”

????事實(shí)證明，F(xiàn)acebook首席運(yùn)營官令人沮喪的預(yù)測并未成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。哈佛商學(xué)院于4月4日公布的一項研究顯示，X一代（31至47歲）女性畢業(yè)生中，僅有10%選擇全職在家照看孩子。哈佛商學(xué)院所有女性畢業(yè)生中，約有70%在從事有償工作，而從事全職工作的比例為56%。

????社會文化系高級副主任羅賓?伊莉認(rèn)為：“她有些言過其實(shí)了。確實(shí)有一些女性畢業(yè)生的形象不夠積極進(jìn)取。人們認(rèn)為她們獲得了MBA學(xué)位，從男性競爭對手那里獲得了一個職位。然后她們離開，結(jié)婚生子，從此無所事事。然而，這并非她們的真實(shí)經(jīng)歷。”

????同為哈佛商學(xué)院校友的桑德伯格，在她最近出版的新書《互依》（Lean In）中也引用了她在兩年前提到的數(shù)字。這些數(shù)字源于一份根據(jù)15年前的回訪得出的非正式調(diào)查結(jié)果。而哈佛最新對商學(xué)院校友進(jìn)行了一場最為系統(tǒng)性的研究。這項名為“走出哈佛的生活與領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力”的調(diào)查項目，涉及從就業(yè)、育兒責(zé)任、到對信念和財富的個人滿意度等方面，共調(diào)查了25,810人，得到了3,786名女性和2,655名男性的響應(yīng)，回復(fù)率為25%。詳細(xì)結(jié)果要在今年晚些時候全部公布，不過，為紀(jì)念女性被允許就讀兩年制MBA學(xué)位50周年，哈佛商學(xué)院公開了部分與性別有關(guān)的調(diào)查結(jié)果。在當(dāng)年哈佛首屆全日制MBA課程入學(xué)登記中，只有8位女性學(xué)員。如今，女性學(xué)員人數(shù)已達(dá)40%。

????伊莉表示，她經(jīng)常聽到關(guān)于女性將退出職場的慘淡預(yù)測。在最近一次拜訪北加州的校友活動中，一位女校友說：“真不敢相信，這15年來，只有25%的女性在工作。” 伊莉表示這讓她非常震驚。伊莉說道：“實(shí)際上，只有10%的女性全職在家照看孩子。而且對于目前在家照看孩子的女性，我們曾詢問她們是否計劃重新回去工作。只有3%的人表示不會，11%的人尚不確定，而其他86%的人均表示肯定會重返職場。”

????此外，令伊莉吃驚的是，在未從事全職工作的女性校友當(dāng)中，許多人仍在從事兼職，每周平均工作25個小時，而且大多數(shù)（約四分之三）都在參加公益和志愿者活動。X一代女性校友中，13%在從事兼職工作，而男性校友則僅為2%。約63%的女性表示自己定期參加志愿者活動，或是一些有意義的活動。而擔(dān)任全職媽媽的女性校友則會更多參加公益活動，有67%表示參加過大量的志愿者活動。

????然而，有些人對研究結(jié)果可能并沒有這么樂觀。例如，伊莉的調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，來自嬰兒潮一代（48至66歲）的女性畢業(yè)生中，約有43%已經(jīng)不再從事全職工作，而同年齡段男性的比例僅為28%。這種差異在X一代女性當(dāng)中更為明顯。屬于這個年齡段的女性當(dāng)中，約有26%已經(jīng)離開了全職崗位，是同年齡段男性的五倍以上——不過這仍遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于桑德伯格的預(yù)測。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，女性畢業(yè)時的孩子越多，越有可能放棄全職工作。有兩個或兩個以上孩子的X一代女性畢業(yè)生中，竟然有37%沒有全職工作，相比而言，沒有孩子的同年齡段女性放棄全職工作的比例僅有9%。

????在哈佛慶祝女性就讀MBA五十周年的活動上，伊莉?qū)⑺恼{(diào)查結(jié)果介紹給了在場的900位女校友。她表示，為了照顧孩子而決定退出職場的許多女性，對于當(dāng)初的決定仍耿耿于懷。“在大會上，許多女性對我說：‘我感覺自己退化了。我之所以決定離開我的工作，是因為我覺得自己不堪重負(fù)。我感覺心虛。我認(rèn)為自己再也做不好任何事情了。’”

????這項研究允許受訪者添加書面評論，由此發(fā)現(xiàn)了許多女性對于工作生活平衡問題的憂慮。其中一位職場媽媽這樣寫道：“既要做一名聰明能干、有志向的女性，又要承擔(dān)起照顧孩子的主要責(zé)任，這真的非常有挑戰(zhàn)性。人們總是告訴我們可以‘擁有一切’。然而，我們必須做出犧牲，而在這種情況下，女性經(jīng)常感覺她們‘失敗了’，或者‘沒能發(fā)揮潛能’。”

????一位女校友稱，在自己生完孩子之后，她的老板因為擔(dān)心她離職，再也不給她分配有挑戰(zhàn)性的工作。“于是，她開始感覺無聊，并問自己：‘我為什么要做這份工作？’”這位校友解釋道：“許多機(jī)構(gòu)都認(rèn)為，女性[在生完孩子之后]希望擔(dān)任沒有什么挑戰(zhàn)性的工作。而實(shí)際上，我希望接受一些挑戰(zhàn)性更強(qiáng)的工作。”最后，這位校友離開了那家公司。

????當(dāng)被問及哪些因素阻礙了女性的職業(yè)發(fā)展時，84%的女性受訪者承認(rèn)，阻礙她們發(fā)展的是“請假或減少工作時間”。位居第二位的不利因素是“重視家庭高于工作”。有約82%的女性受訪者選擇了這個原因。

????除了協(xié)調(diào)媽媽的身份與職業(yè)之外，調(diào)查還發(fā)現(xiàn)，職場上的外部壓力給女性帶來了額外壓力，迫使她們選擇其他工作類型，例如兼職和非營利性工作。大多數(shù)校友都認(rèn)為，缺少資深的女性榜樣、冷漠的公司文化，以及缺乏支持性環(huán)境等，都使女性在職場上舉步維艱。

????哈佛的MBA女畢業(yè)生們希望從職業(yè)中獲得更多。67歲以下的女性中，表示對自己的職業(yè)成就或職業(yè)發(fā)展機(jī)會滿意的不足一半。而男性的情況則相反，大多數(shù)男性認(rèn)為他們的工作非常有意義，并且非常令人滿意。

????在研究中，哈佛還詢問畢業(yè)生們，他們離開哈佛商學(xué)院時和現(xiàn)在相比，他們對成功的定義有何不同。一位男性受訪者表示，當(dāng)他從MBA畢業(yè)時，他對成功的定義是“成為一位能給市場帶來全新創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品的專家。”

????他如今又是如何定義成功呢？“作為兩個孩子的父親，我不會單純從職業(yè)成就的角度定義成功。對于我而言，成功意味著：家庭收入高于家庭開支。爸爸的努力等于媽媽的努力。幫助其他人好于抱怨其他人。家人的幸福比世界上任何事情都重要。”

????另外一名男性畢業(yè)生用三個詞總結(jié)了自己不同時期對成功的定義：“當(dāng)他從哈佛商學(xué)院畢業(yè)時，”伊莉說道，成功就是“錢、錢、錢”。如今，他的成功定義是‘平衡、平衡、平衡。’伊莉認(rèn)為，對于曾經(jīng)選擇放棄全職工作，如今希望重回職場的女性，公司應(yīng)該以開放的心態(tài)聘用。她引用哈佛商學(xué)院50周年慶祝活動啟動周期間一位演講者的話說：“如今，20歲的女性壽命可能達(dá)到100歲。所以，在她的孩子達(dá)到一定年齡之前，她得放棄工作，但她還有大量的時間可以重返職場。我們真的需要重新審視我們的職業(yè)狀況。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????翻譯：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????When Sheryl Sandberg returned to Harvard Business School for a talk in 2011, her pointed answer to a question from an audience of MBAs drew stunned silence. "If current trends continue," Sandberg said, "15 years from today, about one-third of the women in this audience will be working full-time and almost all of you will be working for the guy you are sitting next to."

????It turns out that the Facebook (FB) COO's gloomy prediction has not materialized. A new study by Harvard Business School published on April 4 shows that only 10% of Generation X alumnae (ages 31 to 47) are at home caring for their children full time. Some 70% of all women alumni from HBS are in the paid workforce, and 56% work full time.

????"She is very far off the mark," says Robin Ely, senior associate dean for culture and community. "There is this image of these women that is not positive. People think they get these MBAs. They have taken a seat from a man and then they go off, get married, and not do anything. But it's just not their experience."

????The number that Sandberg, an HBS alumnus, quoted two years ago and in her recently published book, Lean In, comes from an earlier informal study culled from reunion data some 15 years ago. Harvard's new research is the most systematic study ever done of business school alumnae. Dubbed the "Life and Leadership After HBS" survey, the project addresses everything from employment and child-caring responsibilities to personal satisfaction with faith and wealth. The study includes responses from 3,786 women and 2,655 men, a response rate of 25% from the 25,810 who were surveyed. The full results won't be available until later this year, but the school shared key findings around gender to commemorate the admission of women into the two-year MBA program 50 years ago. Only eight women were enrolled in Harvard's first full-time MBA class. Now, women make up 40% of the student body.

????Ely says she regularly confronts the dismal estimates surrounding women dropping out of the workforce. On a recent alumni visit to northern California, Ely says she was horrified to hear a female alum say "' 'I can't believe that 15 years out, only 25% of the women are working.' But after all is said and done, only 10% of women are at home full-time caring for their kids," says Ely. "And of the people currently at home with kids, we asked if they plan to go back to work. Only 3% said no, 11% were unsure, and 86% said yes."

????Also surprising, adds Ely, was the fact that among women not employed full-time, many were working part-time jobs that average 25 hours in a typical week, and the vast majority (three-fourths) are engaged in pro bono and volunteer efforts. Thirteen percent of Gen X women are working part-time, compared with only 2% of men. Some 63% of the women report regular or significant volunteer commitments. Alumnae who care for children full-time are even more committed to pro bono work, with 67% reporting substantial volunteer activity.

????Some may take a less optimistic view of the study's results, however. Ely's research found, for example, that some 43% of female graduates from the Boomer generation (ages 48-66) are no longer working full-time, compared with only 28% of men. The discrepancy is more pronounced among Gen X women. Some 26% of women in this age group have left the full-time workforce, five times more than their male peers -- but well below Sandberg's estimate. The study found that the more children alumnae have, the more likely they are to nix full-time jobs. A whopping 37% of Gen X women with two or more kids aren't in the full-time workforce, compared with only 9% who have no children.

????Ely, who presented the survey's findings to some 900 female alumnae gathered at Harvard to celebrate the 50th anniversary of women's admission on April 4-5, says that many women who had opted out to care for their children are struggling with their decisions. "A lot of the women I talked to at the summit said, 'I feel that I am atrophying. I made a decision to leave my job because I felt overwhelmed. I felt guilty. I felt like I couldn't be good at anything.'"

????The study, which allowed respondents to add written comments, underlines the angst many women feel over work-life balance issues. "It's a challenge to be a smart, driven, ambitious woman and still be a primary caregiver to one's children," wrote a full-time working mother in the study. "We are taught we can 'have it all.' But there are sacrifices that need to be made, and women often feel as if they are 'failing' or 'not living up to potential' when making those sacrifices."

????One alum explained how, after having a child, her boss no longer wanted to give her challenging assignments for fear she would leave. "She started to get bored and asked herself, 'Why am I doing this?'" The alum explained: "Many organizations think women want less challenging work [after they have a child]. Actually, I was seeking more challenging work on some sort of track." Ultimately, this alum left the company.

????When asked which factors are holding back women from advancing in their careers, 84% of female respondents acknowledged that it was "taking leaves or reducing work hours." The second most cited impediment to career advancement for women? "Prioritizing family over work." Some 82% of the female respondents in the study identified this reason.

????Beyond reconciling motherhood and careers, the survey suggests that external forces in the workplace are putting extra stress on women and steering them toward alternative work options, such as part-time and non-profit work. The majority of alums believe that a dearth of senior female role models, inhospitable corporate cultures, and the lack of supportive environments hold women back in the workplace.

????Harvard's MBA alumnae want much more out of their careers than they are getting. Less than half of the women under the age of 67 report being satisfied with their professional accomplishments or opportunities for career growth. Satisfaction skews the opposite way for men, most of whom agree that their work is meaningful and satisfying.

????In the study, Harvard also asked alums what their definition of success was when they left Harvard Business School versus now. One male respondent said when he graduated with his MBA, his definition of success was "becoming someone who is an expert at bringing new innovations to the marketplace."

????His definition now? "Being married with two kids, I can no longer define success only from a career accomplishment perspective. Success to me is summed up in the following equations: Family money earned is greater than family earning spent. Dad's effort equals mom's effort. Helping others is better than complaining about others. Family happiness is greater than anything else in the world."

????Another male alum summed up his definition of success before and after with three-word answers: "When he left HBS," says Ely, it was 'money, money, money.' His definition of success now is 'balance, balance, balance.'"Ely believes that organizations need to be open to recruiting and hiring women who have opted out of full-time work but now want to resume their careers. "A 20-year-old woman has a life expectancy of 100 today," she says, quoting an earlier speaker who came to Harvard Business School during the kickoff week of the 50th anniversary commemoration. "And so if she steps out of the workforce when her kids are a certain age, she has a huge amount of time for her to come back to work. We really need to reconceive careers."