As you are undoubtedly aware, today – 8 March – is International Women’s Day.
What could be more fitting, therefore, than to explore the role played by women in translation?
“In translation, as in other social or intellectual spheres, women have not always been treated in the same way as men,” according to Jean Delisle & Judith Woodsworth in their book Les traducteurs dans l’histoire (Translators in History).
Indeed, from the Middle Ages through to the Renaissance, translation was the only literary practice entrusted to women. However, they only dealt with religious translations.
Since then, things have really changed and women are now involved in many sectors other than translation.
Translating involves conveying a written (translation) or spoken (interpreting) message into a foreign language. To translate, you need to have an excellent command of your mother tongue and at least one other language. You also need to possess a technical and cultural background: legal, scientific, marketing, etc. The profession requires you to have extensive cultural awareness and excellent writing skills.
Women account for the large majority of people working in many fields of the tertiary sector such as health care (approximately 90% of nurses, midwives, and nursing auxiliaries are women), corporate management (accounting: 86%*, executive administration: 96%*). In the same way, women account for 61%* of the “Communication and information professionals” category. Translators and interpreters are found in this category.
Translation and interpreting is a largely female profession, with women accounting for 76%** of interpreters and 77%*** of translators.
Such a phenomenon can be explained by the trend which sees women work in the arts and the fact that many translators work as freelancers or via telecommuting. This status makes it possible to work from home, which is a significant advantage for many women and mothers, in particular. Be that as it may, such advantages do not undermine the professionalism of female translators who translate strategic documents for their clients.
We must remember that translation plays a pivotal role in the internationalisation of human, commercial, financial and political relations. Times have therefore changed since the Middle Ages described by Jean Delisle and Judith Woodsworth. Nowadays, women – in the same way as men – hold strategic positions, in the translation sector, for instance.
While Laurence Parisot, the first chairwoman of the MEDEF, the largest union of employers in France, and Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of Areva, are well-known examples, many other women are company directors. However, women only represent 27% of company directors in France.
In the translation sector, 34%**** of translation companies are managed by women, the majority of whom are translation professionals. As far as men are concerned, they are first and foremost businessmen.
This feminization of the translation sector extends across all positions within translation companies: quality management, project management, key account management, and so on. It is much more than just a largely female profession; it is an entire business sector.
Can the same be said for your business sector? Please send us your comments and examples.
*Source: INSEE 2009 survey
** Source: AIIC
*** Source: SFT
****Source: CNET
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