ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dame Stephanie Shirley - Entrepreneur and philanthropist
In 1962, Dame Stephanie "Steve" Shirley founded Freelance Programmers, a software firm with innovative work practices -- and (mainly) women employees.

Why you should listen

In the austerity of post-World War II England, jobs were few, and opportunities for women to earn a wage were even fewer. So, on her dining room table, Stephanie Shirley founded the kind of company she'd like to work for -- one that posed challenging, rewarding tasks, built around flexible work rules that made it possible to have a real life. Her software company, Freelance Programmers made her one of the richest women in England (and one of the few to have earned her own money). Initially employing only women -- Shirley often bid for contracts as "Steve" to compete in the male-dominated industry -- the company was eventually valued at $3 billion, while 70 of the staff became millionaires when it floated on the stock market.

But money wasn't Shirley's object. "A lot of people go into business to make money," she told the Guardian. "I really didn't; I went in with a mission for women. Conversely, I was determined never, ever to be poor again." Freelance Programmers became the FI Group became Xansa; it was acquired by Steria in 2007.

Shirley retired in 1993, but she hasn't stopped pushing for progress in the fields she loves. For instance, she works tirelessly to push forward research into autism spectrum disorders, as well as to study and improve the IT industry and the role of the internet in society. She told the Guardian, "I do get committed, and I don't just give my money; I try to give of myself."

More profile about the speaker
Dame Stephanie Shirley | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads?

黛姆·斯蒂芬妮·雪莉: 為什麼有野心的女性,頭頂是平的?

Filmed:
2,164,868 views

黛姆·斯蒂芬妮·雪莉是一個你或許沒聽過,但在科技業相當成功的女企業家,在 1960 年代,她率先在英國成立一家全數員工都是女性的軟體公司,公司的價值曾高達 30 億美金,使她的 70 位員工成為百萬富翁,在這場坦誠又具幽默的演講中,她解釋為何自稱為「史蒂夫」這個屬於男性的名字,她如何顛覆當時傳統社會對女性的期待,以及分享一些分辨有事業心女性的方法....
- Entrepreneur and philanthropist
In 1962, Dame Stephanie "Steve" Shirley founded Freelance Programmers, a software firm with innovative work practices -- and (mainly) women employees. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
When I wrote my memoir傳記,
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我在寫我的回憶錄時,
00:14
the publishers出版商 were really confused困惑.
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出版商都覺得很困惑。
00:18
Was it about me as a child兒童 refugee難民,
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他們不確定這本書
是要談我童年的難民故事,
00:22
or as a woman女人 who set up a high-tech高科技
software軟件 company公司 back in the 1960s,
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是要談一個女人如何在 60 年代
創辦一家高科技軟體公司,
00:28
one that went public上市
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公開上市,
00:30
and eventually終於 employed就業 over 8,500 people?
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並聘用超過 8500 名員工?
00:34
Or was it as a mother母親
of an autistic自閉症 child兒童?
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是要談自閉症小孩母親的心路歷程?
00:39
Or as a philanthropist慈善家 that's
now given特定 away serious嚴重 money?
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又或是談一個慈善家為何捐出大把家產?
00:43
Well, it turns out, I'm all of these.
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結果是以上皆是。
00:46
So let me tell you my story故事.
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現在就讓我來談談我的故事。
00:51
All that I am stems from when
I got onto a train培養 in Vienna維也納,
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一切都得從我在維也納
跳上一班火車開始,
00:58
part部分 of the KindertransportKindertransport that saved保存
nearly幾乎 10,000 Jewish猶太 children孩子
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那班火車是孩童援救計劃之一,
從納粹佔領的歐洲拯救了
01:03
from Nazi納粹 Europe歐洲.
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近一萬名猶太兒童。
01:05
I was five years年份 old, clutching抓著 the hand
of my nine-year-old九十歲 sister妹妹
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我那時候五歲,緊緊抓著我九歲姊姊的手。
01:09
and had very little idea理念 as to
what was going on.
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我根本不知道發生什麼事。
01:13
"What is England英國 and
why am I going there?"
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「什麼是英國?為什麼要去哪裡?」
01:18
I'm only alive because so long ago,
I was helped幫助 by generous慷慨 strangers陌生人.
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我之所以能存活,是因為很久以前
我受到慷慨陌生人的幫助。
01:26
I was lucky幸運, and doubly lucky幸運
to be later後來 reunited重聚
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我很幸運,超級幸運,
01:30
with my birth分娩 parents父母.
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才能在日後與我的親生父母重聚。
01:32
But, sadly可悲的是, I never bonded保稅
with them again.
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但難過的是,我們之間
沒辦法再建立緊密的親情聯結。
01:39
But I've doneDONE more in the seven decades幾十年
since以來 that miserable day
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從那苦難日,我媽媽把我送上火車之後,
01:43
when my mother母親 put me on the train培養
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70 年來,我做過很多事情,
01:45
than I would ever have dreamed夢見 possible可能.
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遠遠超過我的想像。
01:48
And I love England英國, my adopted採用 country國家,
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我喜愛英國,這個接納我的國家。
01:51
with a passion that perhaps也許 only someone有人
who has lost丟失 their human人的 rights權利 can feel.
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這種熱愛,
或許只有喪失過人權的人才能感受。
01:57
I decided決定 to make mine a life
that was worth價值 saving保存.
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我決定讓我的人生有意義,
才能回報救過我的人,
02:04
And then, I just got on with it.
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誰知道後來有點欲罷不能。
02:07
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:11
Let me take you back to the early 1960s.
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讓我從 1960 年代早期開始講起。
02:15
To get past過去 the gender性別 issues問題 of the time,
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因為當時有性別歧視的問題,
02:19
I set up my own擁有 software軟件 house at one
of the first such這樣 startups初創公司 in Britain英國.
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我成立了自己的軟體公司。
英國第一批軟體公司之一。
02:26
But it was also a company公司 of women婦女,
a company公司 for women婦女,
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這家公司只有女性員工,
提供女性就業機會,
02:32
an early social社會 business商業.
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算是早期的社會企業。
02:35
And people laughed笑了 at the very idea理念
because software軟件, at that time,
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人們覺得這種作法很可笑,因為當時
02:39
was given特定 away free自由 with hardware硬件.
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軟體是隨硬體贈送的產品。
02:41
Nobody沒有人 would buy購買 software軟件,
certainly當然 not from a woman女人.
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沒有人會買軟體,
當然更不會跟婦女買。
02:45
Although雖然 women婦女 were then coming未來 out
of the universities高校 with decent正經 degrees,
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雖然當時婦女開始取得體面的大學學歷,
02:51
there was a glass玻璃 ceiling天花板 to our progress進展.
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玻璃天花板對婦女的職業生涯
仍是一道無形阻隔。
02:56
And I'd hit擊中 that glass玻璃 ceiling天花板 too often經常,
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我自己也不斷面臨這無形的障礙,
03:00
and I wanted opportunities機會 for women婦女.
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所以我想提供女性工作機會。
03:04
I recruited應徵 professionally專業 qualified合格 women婦女
who'd誰願意 left the industry行業 on marriage婚姻,
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我招募專業且能力優秀,
卻因為結婚而離職的女性,
03:09
or when their first child兒童 was expected預期
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或是因為懷孕生子而離職的女性,
03:11
and structured結構化的 them into a
home-working在家工作 organization組織.
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讓婦女可以在家完成工作。
03:16
We pioneered首創 the concept概念 of women婦女
going back into the workforce勞動力
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我們用前瞻性的想法讓女性在職業中斷後,
03:21
after a career事業 break打破.
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可以再回到工作崗位。
03:23
We pioneered首創 all sorts排序 of
new, flexible靈活 work methods方法:
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我們提倡各類新穎、靈活的工作方法:
03:27
job工作 shares分享, profit-sharing利潤分享,
and eventually終於, co-ownership共同所有權
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工作分擔,利潤分紅,
員工進而成為公司的股東。
03:32
when I took a quarter25美分硬幣 of the company公司
into the hands of the staff員工
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我將公司股權的四分之一
03:36
at no cost成本 to anyone任何人 but me.
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無償交給除了我之外的員工。
03:41
For years年份, I was the first woman女人 this,
or the only woman女人 that.
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多年來,我是第一位
也是唯一這麼做的女性。
03:47
And in those days, I couldn't不能 work
on the stock股票 exchange交換,
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當時,我無法在證券交易所工作,
03:51
I couldn't不能 drive駕駛 a bus總線 or fly an airplane飛機.
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我不能開巴士或是開飛機。
03:55
Indeed確實, I couldn't不能 open打開 a bank銀行 account帳戶
without my husband's丈夫 permission允許.
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甚至沒有我老公的同意,
我就不能開立銀行帳號。
04:01
My generation of women婦女 fought戰鬥
the battles戰鬥 for the right to work
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我們這個年代的女性為工作權,
04:05
and the right for equal等於 pay工資.
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為薪資平等權而奮戰。
04:10
Nobody沒有人 really expected預期 much
from people at work or in society社會
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當時沒有人在工作職場或社會上
對女性有很高的期望
04:14
because all the expectations期望 then
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因為當時對女性的期待是
04:16
were about home and
family家庭 responsibilities責任.
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家務和家庭責任。
04:20
And I couldn't不能 really face面對 that,
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我實在無法接受這樣的現況,
04:23
so I started開始 to challenge挑戰
the conventions公約 of the time,
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因此我開始挑戰當時的傳統,
04:29
even to the extent程度 of changing改變 my name名稱
from "Stephanie斯蒂芬妮" to "Steve史蒂夫"
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甚至在商務書信上,
04:35
in my business商業 development發展 letters,
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將我的名字由「斯蒂芬妮」改為「史蒂夫」,
04:36
so as to get through通過 the door
before anyone任何人 realized實現
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在有人發現我是女非男之前,
04:39
that he was a she.
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就先打開商業交易的大門。
04:40
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:44
My company公司, called Freelance自由職業者 Programmers程序員,
and that's precisely恰恰 what it was,
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我的公司名稱是「自由程式設計者」,
這實在是名符其實。
04:51
couldn't不能 have started開始 smaller:
on the dining用餐 room房間 table,
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我創業的地點小到不能再小,
從我的餐桌開始
04:56
and financed資助 by the equivalent當量
of 100 dollars美元 in today's今天的 terms條款,
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創業資金相當於今天的 100 美元。
05:01
and financed資助 by my labor勞動 and
by borrowing借款 against反對 the house.
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這資金是我工作膁來的錢,
再加上房子的抵押貸款
05:08
My interests利益 were scientific科學,
the market市場 was commercial廣告 --
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我的興趣是科學技術,
但要有市場就要懂商 --
05:14
things such這樣 as payroll工資表,
which哪一個 I found發現 rather boring無聊.
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像薪資之類的事情,我覺得相當無聊。
05:18
So I had to compromise妥協 with
operational操作 research研究 work,
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但我必須在研發工作上讓步,
05:23
which哪一個 had the intellectual知識分子 challenge挑戰
that interested有興趣 me
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在我有興趣,充滿智力挑戰的工作上讓步,
05:27
and the commercial廣告 value
that was valued價值 by the clients客戶:
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轉而了解客戶所重視的商業價值:
05:34
things like scheduling調度 freight貨物 trains火車,
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如安排貨運火車、
05:40
time-tabling時間提交立法會 buses公共汽車, stock股票 control控制,
lots and lots of stock股票 control控制.
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了解巴士時刻表、控制庫存量,
許多的庫存管理工作。
05:46
And eventually終於, the work came來了 in.
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最後我們終於接到訂單。
05:50
We disguised偽裝 the domestic國內 and
part-time兼職 nature性質 of the staff員工
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我們以產品固定價格來掩飾
我們是在家創業的小公司,
05:54
by offering fixed固定 prices價格,
one of the very first to do so.
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而且員工都是兼職,
我們首創固定價格的先例。
05:59
And who would have guessed
that the programming程序設計
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有誰會想到
06:02
of the black黑色 box flight飛行 recorder錄音機
of Supersonic超音 Concord和睦
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協和號超音速客機的
飛行記錄黑盒子的程式
06:06
would have been doneDONE by a bunch
of women婦女 working加工 in their own擁有 homes家園.
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是由一群在家工作的女性所設計。
06:11
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
06:19
All we used was a simple簡單
"trust相信 the staff員工" approach途徑
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我們的作法很簡單,就是「相信員工」
06:24
and a simple簡單 telephone電話.
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加上一台普通的電話。
06:26
We even used to ask job工作 applicants申請人,
"Do you have access訪問 to a telephone電話?"
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我們甚至問求職者,
「你有電話可以用嗎?」
06:34
An early project項目 was to develop發展
software軟件 standards標準
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早期的專案是發展管理控制協議的
06:37
on management管理 control控制 protocols協議.
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軟體標準。
06:39
And software軟件 was and still is a
maddeningly令人惱火 hard-to-control難以控制 activity活動,
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軟體一直是難以控制到令人發狂的東西,
06:45
so that was enormously巨大 valuable有價值.
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因此極有價值。
06:47
We used the standards標準 ourselves我們自己,
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我們的程式碼使用自己的軟體標準,
06:49
we were even paid支付 to update更新
them over the years年份,
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多年來我們收取軟體更新服務費,
06:52
and eventually終於, they were adopted採用 by NATO北約.
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後來,北大西洋公約組織採用這套軟體標準
06:58
Our programmers程序員 -- remember記得, only women婦女,
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我們的程式設計師 --
別忘了,她們全是女性,
07:02
including包含 gay同性戀者 and transgender變性 --
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包括同性戀和變性人--
07:05
worked工作 with pencil鉛筆 and paper
to develop發展 flowcharts流程圖
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以紙筆設計程式流程圖
07:10
defining確定 each task任務 to be doneDONE.
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來定義每項必項完成的任務。
07:14
And they then wrote code,
usually平時 machine code,
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接著寫程式碼,通常是寫機械碼,
07:18
sometimes有時 binary二進制 code,
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有時寫二進制編碼,
07:20
which哪一個 was then sent發送
by mail郵件 to a data數據 center中央
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以郵件寄到資料中心,
07:25
to be punched onto
paper tape膠帶 or card
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把程式碼打在紙帶或卡片上
以便讓計算機讀取該程式碼
07:29
and then re-punched重新打孔,
in order訂購 to verify校驗 it.
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然後再打一次程式碼在卡片上,
以確保所輸入的程式碼是正確的。
07:34
All this, before it ever got
near a computer電腦.
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這些都是電腦出現以前的做法。
07:37
That was programming程序設計 in the early 1960s.
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這是 1960 年代編寫程式碼的方式。
07:43
In 1975, 13 years年份 from startup啟動,
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1975 年,公司創立後第 13 年,
07:48
equal等於 opportunity機會 legislation立法
came來了 in in Britain英國
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英國通過就業機會平等法規,
07:51
and that made製作 it illegal非法 to have
our pro-female親女 policies政策.
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我們再也不能只僱用女性。
07:58
And as an example of
unintended意外 consequences後果,
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所以發生一個料想不到的結果,
08:02
my female company公司 had to let the men男人 in.
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我們這家女性公司,不得不聘用男性。
08:06
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:11
When I started開始 my company公司 of women婦女,
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當我開始創立我的女性公司時,
08:13
the men男人 said, "How interesting有趣, because
it only works作品 because it's small."
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男人的回應是,真有趣,
這公司能持續運作,是因為規模小。
08:20
And later後來, as it became成為 sizable可觀,
they accepted公認, "Yes, it is sizable可觀 now,
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後來,當公司愈來愈有規模,
他們又說,是啊!是有點規模,
08:26
but of no strategic戰略 interest利益."
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但是毫無戰略利益
08:30
And later後來, when it was a company公司
valued價值 at over three billion十億 dollars美元,
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後來,當公司市值超過 30 億美金
08:37
and I'd made製作 70 of the staff員工
into millionaires百萬富翁,
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而且我的 70 位員工都成為百萬富翁,
08:41
they sort分類 of said, "Well doneDONE, Steve史蒂夫!"
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他們有點不情不願地說:
「幹得好,史蒂夫!」
08:45
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:49
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
08:53
You can always tell ambitious有雄心 women婦女
by the shape形狀 of our heads:
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你可以依頭型分辨出有野心的女人:
08:58
They're flat平面 on top最佳 for being存在
patted拍拍 patronizingly屈尊.
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她們頭是平的,
因為不時要屈尊俯就讓人拍打。
09:01
(Laughter笑聲) (Applause掌聲)
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(笑聲)(掌聲)
09:07
And we have larger feet to stand
away from the kitchen廚房 sink水槽.
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我們有較大的腳丫子
讓我們可以走出廚房。
09:12
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:13
Let me share分享 with you
two secrets秘密 of success成功:
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我跟各位分享成功的二個秘密:
09:17
Surround環繞 yourself你自己 with first-class頭等 people
and people that you like;
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跟優秀且你喜歡的人一起合作;
09:23
and choose選擇 your partner夥伴
very, very carefully小心.
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及小心謹慎地選擇合作夥伴。
09:30
Because the other day when I said,
"My husband's丈夫 an angel天使,"
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幾天前,我說「我的老公是天使,」
09:33
a woman女人 complained抱怨 --
"You're lucky幸運," she said,
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有個女人抱怨道,「你真幸運,」
09:35
"mine's礦山 still alive."
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「我的老公還活著。」
09:37
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:45
If success成功 were easy簡單,
we'd星期三 all be millionaires百萬富翁.
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如果成功垂手可得,
那我們都會是百萬富翁。
09:51
But in my case案件, it came來了 in the midst中間
of family家庭 trauma外傷 and indeed確實, crisis危機.
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就我而言,我的成功
夾雜著家庭創傷和危機。
10:01
Our late晚了 son兒子, Giles賈爾斯, was an only child兒童,
a beautiful美麗, contented滿足 baby寶寶.
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我已過世的獨子賈爾斯
是一個美麗,隨遇而安的小孩。
10:09
And then, at two and a half,
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在他二歲半的時候,
10:13
like a changeling變心 in a fairy仙女 story故事,
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像是童話故事裡被仙女偷換的小孩,
10:16
he lost丟失 the little speech言語 that he had
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他不再說話
10:20
and turned轉身 into a wild野生,
unmanageable不可收拾 toddler幼兒.
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變成一個任性、不聽話的小孩。
10:25
Not the terrible可怕 twos三三兩兩;
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他不是一般可怕的兩歲小孩;
10:27
he was profoundly深深 autistic自閉症
and he never spoke again.
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他有嚴重的自閉症,
而且從此不再開口說話。
10:36
Giles賈爾斯 was the first resident居民 in the first
house of the first charity慈善機構 that I set up
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我為自閉症患者設立了第一所慈善機構
10:41
to pioneer先鋒 services服務 for autism自閉症.
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賈爾斯是第一位入住者。
10:45
And then there's been
a groundbreaking奠基 Prior's在此之前的 Court法庭 school學校
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後來我們還開創先例為自閉症孩童
10:48
for pupils學生 with autism自閉症
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設立特殊學校,
10:50
and a medical research研究 charity慈善機構,
again, all for autism自閉症.
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同時也為自閉症患者成立醫療研究慈善機構。
10:54
Because whenever每當 I found發現 a gap間隙
in services服務, I tried試著 to help.
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只要我發現有服務不足的地方
我就會盡力幫忙。
11:01
I like doing new things
and making製造 new things happen發生.
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我喜歡創新並實現創新的想法。
11:06
And I've just started開始 a three-year三年
think tank坦克 for autism自閉症.
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我最近剛為自閉患者成立了一個為期三年的智囊團。
11:13
And so that some of my wealth財富 does go back
to the industry行業 from which哪一個 it stems,
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我把一些財富回饋給社會,
11:18
I've also founded成立
the Oxford牛津 Internet互聯網 Institute研究所
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我也成立牛津網路研究所
11:22
and other IT ventures企業.
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投資其他資訊科技創投產業。
11:24
The Oxford牛津 Internet互聯網 Institute研究所
focuses重點 not on the technology技術,
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牛津網路研究所不只關注科技議題,
11:28
but on the social社會, economic經濟, legal法律
and ethical合乎道德的 issues問題 of the Internet互聯網.
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也關注網路上社會、經濟、法律以及道德議題。
11:35
Giles賈爾斯 died死亡 unexpectedly不料 17 years年份 ago now.
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17 年前,賈爾斯意外過世。
11:42
And I have learned學到了 to live生活 without him,
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我已學會習慣沒有他在身邊的日子,
11:46
and I have learned學到了 to live生活
without his need of me.
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我學會習慣他不再需要我的的日子。
11:51
Philanthropy慈善事業 is all that I do now.
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現在我把重心放在慈善事業上。
11:54
I need never worry擔心 about getting得到 lost丟失
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我從不會擔心迷路
11:57
because several一些 charities慈善機構
would quickly很快 come and find me.
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因為有許多慈善機構很快就會找到我。
12:00
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
12:12
It's one thing to have an idea理念
for an enterprise企業,
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有創業的想法是一回事,
12:16
but as many許多 people in this room房間 will know,
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但在座的各位也知道,
12:19
making製造 it happen發生 is a very difficult thing
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要實現想法是件很困難的事
12:22
and it demands需要 extraordinary非凡 energy能源,
self-belief自信 and determination決心,
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我們需要超乎常人的精力,
要有自信和決心,
12:30
the courage勇氣 to risk風險 family家庭 and home,
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承擔家庭問題風險的勇氣,
12:34
and a 24/7 commitment承諾
that borders國界 on the obsessive強迫症.
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全年無休地獻身在自己的事業上。
12:39
So it's just as well
that I'm a workaholic工作狂.
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所以幸好我是個工作狂。
12:43
I believe in the beauty美女 of work when we
do it properly正確 and in humility謙遜.
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我相信工作的美好
只要我們能以正確和謙卑的心將工作做好。
12:50
Work is not just something I do
when I'd rather be doing something else其他.
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工作並不是你不能不忍受的某件事
12:57
We live生活 our lives生活 forward前鋒.
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生活要往前看。
12:59
So what has all that taught me?
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所以,我的這些經歷經教了我什麼?
13:04
I learned學到了 that tomorrow's明天的
never going to be like today今天,
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我學到明天將不同於今日,
13:07
and certainly當然 nothing like yesterday昨天.
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當然也不會跟昨天一樣。
13:10
And that made製作 me able能夠 to cope應付 with change更改,
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這樣的觀念幫助我應付所有的變化,
13:14
indeed確實, eventually終於 to welcome歡迎 change更改,
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最後甚至擁抱改變,
13:18
though雖然 I'm told I'm still very difficult.
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雖然有人說,我還是很固執
13:23
Thank you very much.
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謝謝各位。
13:25
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Yamei Huang
Reviewed by Lorrine Lee

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dame Stephanie Shirley - Entrepreneur and philanthropist
In 1962, Dame Stephanie "Steve" Shirley founded Freelance Programmers, a software firm with innovative work practices -- and (mainly) women employees.

Why you should listen

In the austerity of post-World War II England, jobs were few, and opportunities for women to earn a wage were even fewer. So, on her dining room table, Stephanie Shirley founded the kind of company she'd like to work for -- one that posed challenging, rewarding tasks, built around flexible work rules that made it possible to have a real life. Her software company, Freelance Programmers made her one of the richest women in England (and one of the few to have earned her own money). Initially employing only women -- Shirley often bid for contracts as "Steve" to compete in the male-dominated industry -- the company was eventually valued at $3 billion, while 70 of the staff became millionaires when it floated on the stock market.

But money wasn't Shirley's object. "A lot of people go into business to make money," she told the Guardian. "I really didn't; I went in with a mission for women. Conversely, I was determined never, ever to be poor again." Freelance Programmers became the FI Group became Xansa; it was acquired by Steria in 2007.

Shirley retired in 1993, but she hasn't stopped pushing for progress in the fields she loves. For instance, she works tirelessly to push forward research into autism spectrum disorders, as well as to study and improve the IT industry and the role of the internet in society. She told the Guardian, "I do get committed, and I don't just give my money; I try to give of myself."

More profile about the speaker
Dame Stephanie Shirley | Speaker | TED.com