For many women choosing whether to work or not to work outside their home is a luxury: they must work to survive. Others face a hard decision.

Perhaps the easiest choice has to do with economics. One husband said, “Marge and I decided after careful consideration that for her to go back to work at this moment was an extravagance (奢侈) we couldn’t afford.” With two preschool children, it soon became clear in their figuring that with babysitters (临时照看小孩的人), transportation, and increased taxes, rather than having more money, they might actually end up with less.