From < A guide to womenomics > 摘自《经济学人》 Apr 12th 2006

In the developing world, too, more women now have paid jobs. In the emerging East Asian economies, for every 100 men in the labour force there are now 83 women, higher even than the average in OECD countries. （1）Women have been particularly important to the success of Asia's export industries, typically accounting for 60-80% of jobs in many export sectors, such as textiles and clothing.

Of course, it is misleading to talk of women's “entry” into the workforce. Besides formal employment, women have always worked in the home, looking after children, cleaning or cooking, but because this is unpaid, it is not counted in the official statistics. To some extent, the increase in female paid employment has meant fewer hours of unpaid housework. （2）However, the value of housework has fallen by much less than the time spent on it, because of the increased productivity afforded by dishwashers, washing machines and so forth. Paid nannies and cleaners employed by working women now also do some work that used to belong in the non-market economy.

new words

sector    n. 部门
much less than    远远不如

（1）Women have been particularly important to the success of Asia's export industries, typically accounting for 60-80% of jobs in many export sectors, such as textiles and clothing.
妇女对亚洲出口产业的成功起到了尤其重要的作用，在许多出口部门中，比如纺织业和服装业，有60％到80％的工作岗位由妇女承担。

（2）However, the value of housework has fallen by much less than the time spent on it, because of the increased productivity afforded by dishwashers, washing machines and so forth.Paid nannies and cleaners employed by working women now also do some work that used to belong in the non-market economy.
然而，家务工作贬值的速度远远不如做家务所用时间减少的速度更快，因为诸如洗碗机、洗衣机等物品带来了不断增加的生产效率。被有工作的妇女雇佣的有薪保姆和清洁工也承担了一部分过去属于非市场经济成分的工作。