女性能頂國際政治半邊天的時代

“We’ve had enough of these boys messing about.” This is what Anna Soubry, UK’s former business minister, said earlier last month, offering her backing of Theresa May in the running to become the UK’s next prime minister.

“我們受夠了這些男生們的搗亂了。”英國前商務大臣安娜•索布里在上月早些時候如是說道，對於特蕾莎•梅參選下一任英國首相表示支持。

Soubry was indicating that it was time for women to step up to “clear up the mess created by the men”.

索布里指出，是時候讓女性們走到臺前，收拾這些男性們製造出來的混亂了。

Women are starting to take power in more and more important positions in recent years.

近幾年，女性在職場中逐漸身居要職。

According to a new list compiled by Agence France Presse (AFP), the world’s 10 most powerful women who made their way above the “glass ceiling”–the invisible barrier that keeps women from rising beyond a certain level in hierarchy

法新社最近就列出了突破“玻璃天花板”（在社會階層中阻礙女性晉升的無形壁壘）的世界十大女強人，

includes the US’ first female presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, head of the US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen, and Director-General of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan.

美國首位女性總統候選人希拉里•克林頓、美國聯邦儲備委員會主席珍妮特•耶倫，世界衛生組織總幹事陳馮富珍都位列其中。

There is something interesting with the AFP list though: A majority of the 10 women are over 60, the rough age when some women become grandmothers.

在法新社給出的榜單中，一個很有趣的現象是：在這10位女性中，大部分人都年過六旬，正是一些人當祖母的年紀。

In fact, this might be the best proof of how aging–a factor that has always been considered as a disadvantage, especially for women–has begun to turn into an edge, for women.

事實上，這或許能最好地證明，上了年紀逐漸成爲女性的一大優勢。而在過去，這一直被認爲是一項劣勢，尤其對於女性而言。

According to The Atlantic, the reasons behind the phenomenon may include that today’s older women are better educated and experienced than any generations before.

據美國《大西洋月刊》報道，這種現象背後的原因在於，如今這些年長的女性，或許比以往任何一代人都更有經驗，受過更好的教育。

It is also because of society’s changing perceptions about what women can achieve–after being held back in their middle age years raising kids and running domestic lives, older women are now more likely to start again instead of retiring into a peaceful life of cooking and gardening.

這也源於整個社會在女性成就的觀念上有所改變——在度過了照顧孩子和操持家務的忙碌中年後，如今的年長女性更願意重新開始自己的事業，而不是賦閒在家，享受做飯、養花的退休生活。

Also, according to the UK’s Conservative peer, Baroness Jenkin of Kennington, people are growing to be more trusting toward female leaders compared to their male counterparts, especially during periods of instability.

除此之外，英國保守黨人，肯寧頓的詹金男爵夫人還認爲，和男性領導人相比，現在的人們對於女性領導人更爲信任，尤其在動盪時期。

“They feel that at a time of turmoil, a woman will be more practical and a bit less testosterone in their approach.

“人們認爲，在動盪時期女性會更爲務實，而在行爲方式上，也會更少地被男性激素所影響。

More collaborative, more willing to listen to voices around the table, less likely to have an instantly aggressive approach to things,” she told The Guardian.

女性會更願意合作，願意去傾聽周圍的聲音，而不太會採取一些激進的手段，”她在接受英國《衛報》採訪時表示。

In fact, this changing atmosphere in gender equality is spreading all over the world and across women of all ages.

事實上，這種在性別平等方面有所改變的社會風尚，已經擴散到了世界各地各個年齡層的女性當中。

In the just-ended Rio Olympics, for example, among the 121 medals under the belt of the US team, 55 were won by men while 61 were captured by women. The rest five were in mixed events.

比如，在剛剛結束的里約奧運會上，美國代表隊將121塊獎牌收入囊中。其中，55塊獎牌由男性摘得，61塊獎牌由女性斬獲，而剩下的5塊則在男女混合項目中獲得。

When US gymnast Simone Biles sealed four golds and a bronze, she said, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles.”

美國體操女運動員西蒙•拜爾斯在囊括了四枚金牌和一枚銅牌後說道，“我不是下一位尤塞恩•博爾特或是邁克爾•菲爾普斯。我是第一位西蒙•拜爾斯。”