Sandi Toksvig: A political party for women's equality
Sandi Toksvig: Un partido político para la igualdad de las mujeres
Long revered in the UK for her wit and candor, Sandi Toksvig is now lending her familiar voice to a greater cause -- equality for women. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
is so much bigger than in Europe.
más grande que en Europa.
are where everybody has great ideas.
todos tienen ideas geniales.
those great ideas come from?
esas ideas geniales?
that the average person --
de que el 95 % de ellos
window of opportunity each day
ventana de oportunidad cada día
nuevas son inútiles.
some sports on television,
deportes en la TV,
why I just don't engage with it.
no me enganchaba con eso.
worth being that flexible
ser tan flexible
your heel at that angle?
el talón desde ese ángulo?
to relate to that,
to be able to do it, OK?
any good at sport, OK?
buena en deportes, ¿sí?
en la que todos mis amigos dicen:
when all my friends say,
as I was when I was 18."
que tenía a los 18 años".
más bien complacida.
la misma forma que entonces...
Así, que no voy a correr ahora.
not going to do it now.
como yo en el deporte?
con cero capacidad atlética.
with zero athletic ability.
no a la corrupción, no a las habilidades.
no corruption, no skills.
with sport when I watch it on television.
los deportes cuando los veo en la TV.
is about men running
es sobre hombres que corren
neatly packaged in Lycra.
empaquetados en lycra.
female sport on television,
might be forgiven for thinking,
podría pensar que,
is the very lever you need
es la palanca necesaría
and onto a sports ground.
are breathtaking.
son impresionantes.
in the whole of history,
where women have equality with men.
entre mujeres y hombres.
in the whole of evolution.
de la evolución.
to evolve quite so brilliantly.
de evolucionar brillantemente.
I should do something about it.
hacer algo al respecto.
I've got an elderly mom.
tengo una madre mayor.
I could have 15 minutes to myself,
que podría disponer de 15 minutos,
intentado cambiar el mundo.
at changing the world.
lo que llamo un "botón de activación".
what I call an "activation button."
pressed when you think,
tipo de desigualdad,
an injustice of some kind,
were the least bit surprised.
se sorprendieran ni un poco.
that I looked like Clint Eastwood.
que me parecía a Clint Eastwood.
was pressed when I had my kids --
cuando tuve a mis hijos...
born to my then-partner.
tuve con mi pareja de entonces.
Trabajo en la TV en Gran Bretaña.
I work on television in Britain.
mis propios shows
I was already hosting my own shows
to grow up with a secret.
in British public life.
la vida pública británica.
que nunca volvería a trabajar,
that I would never work again,
absolutely worth the risk.
la pena el riesgo.
section of the right-wing press,
sección de la prensa de derecha,
the less stable elements of society,
menos estables de la sociedad,
that I had to take the kids into hiding,
a los niños a la clandestinidad,
many moments in the still of the night
momentos en el silencio de la noche
por lo que había hecho.
vino la calma.
I carried on working,
siendo absolutamente fantásticos.
to be absolutely fantastic.
tenía un amigo para jugar.
he had a friend over to play.
I could hear them chatting.
podía oírlos charlar.
"What's it like having two mums?"
"¿Cómo es tener dos mamás?"
so I leant in to hear and my son said,
me incliné a escuchar y mi hijo dijo:
because if one of them's sick,
una de ellas está enferma,
to cook for you."
for gay equality was pressed,
por la igualdad gay,
por los derechos gays
the person that I love.
a casarme con la persona que amo.
that the law was changed,
who I love very much, indeed.
a quien amo mucho, de hecho.
lo hicimos en el escenario
we did it on the stage
thousand people.
para 2500 personas.
then I let it be known to the public:
y lo dimos a conocer al público:
please come and join us.
por favor venga y súmese a nosotros.
que quisiera venir.
who wanted to come.
que puedan imaginar:
nuns, married people,
monjas, gente casada,
of humanity was there.
la humanidad estaba allí.
on that stage thinking, "How fantastic.
y pensaba: "Qué fantástico.
de activismo habían terminado.
my activation days were over, OK?
International Women's Day.
celebrar el Día Internacional de la Mujer.
all-female orchestra,
totalmente femenina en el mundo,
or overlooked women composers,
compositoras olvidadas o ignoradas,
from Baltimore conducting,
Marin Alsop de Baltimore,
la historia de las mujeres.
from the past and pass them on.
del pasado y transmitirlas.
the Mount Rushmore model.
lo que llamo el modelo Monte Rushmore.
have been entirely left out of it.
han quedado totalmente fuera de eso.
about the suffragettes --
sobre las sufragistas...
women who fought so hard
mujeres magníficas que lucharon tanto
in Britain to vote.
en Gran Bretaña para votar.
get the vote in 1928.
lecture I was giving;
where the job was done.
there was so much left to do.
quedaba mucho por hacer.
in positions of power.
en posiciones de poder.
at the top 100 companies
las 100 mejores empresas
How many women running them?
¿Cuántas mujeres las manejan?
That's all right, I suppose.
Eso está bien, supongo.
are run by men called "John."
manejadas por hombres llamados "John".
running FTSE 100 companies --
manejando las 100 empresas FTSE...
llamados "Dave".
are doing a bang-up job.
hacen un trabajo excelente.
of the gender pay gap.
entre hombres y mujeres.
do women earn the same as men.
ganan lo mismo que los hombres.
at the top in the boardroom.
en la cumbre del directorio.
was passed in 1975.
Gran Bretaña se aprobó en 1975.
many, many women
until the end of the year,
hasta fin de año,
Forum estimates
finalmente ganarán igual en...
get equal pay in ...
a dar mi charla,
revisó la estimación.
that's a terrible -- 2133.
grandchildren's lives
en mi propio oficio.
in my own business.
first woman on British television
en la televisión británica
for a brand new ambassador
una nueva embajadora
and gender equality,
de la mujer y la igualdad de género.
in positions of power is shockingly low.
posiciones de poder es extremamente baja.
true in the British Parliament.
en el Parlamento Británico.
elected to the Parliament that year
elegidos en el parlamento ese año
if they're not at the table --
Si no están en la mesa,
en esa mesa ayudando a crear leyes,
helping to make the laws --
perspective is overlooked.
la perspectiva de la mujer.
to see a woman in charge.
ver a una mujer a cargo.
female Prime Minister;
su segunda mujer primer ministro;
she was challenged:
recibió un desafío:
100 days that you're in office
100 días en el cargo;
lives for women in Britain.
las mujeres en Gran Bretaña.
cleaning up the mess the boys made.
limpiando el lío que hicieron los chicos.
issue of inequality.
de la desigualdad.
like it matters. Does it?
como si fuera importante, ¿no?
at the STEM industries, OK?
las industrias de ciencias puras.
engineering and mathematics.
ingeniería y matemáticas.
single aspect of our daily lives.
aspecto de la vida cotidiana.
well-documented glass ceiling
e increíblemente bien documentado
scientist who fails to progress?
joven científica que no progresa?
de "hechos, no palabras".
Catherine Mayer in Britain,
Catherine Mayer en Gran Bretaña,
a brand new political party.
un nuevo partido político.
are absolutely equal is at the ballot box.
son absolutamente iguales es en las urnas.
que estábamos haciendo,
it was to start a political party.
que era crear un partido político.
men have been doing it for years."
los hombres lo han hecho durante años".
"The Women's Equality Party."
"Partido de la Igualdad de la Mujer".
I just thought we'd be clear."
que quedaría claro".
to be a secret, you know? I just --
fuera un secreto. Solo...
It's much too feminist!"
¡Es demasiado feminista!"
I've heard somebody say,
he oído a alguien decir:
if there's a "but" in the sentence,
un "pero" en la oración,
the hilarious question,
la pregunta hilarante:
made of flammable material.
por hacerse de material inflamable.
lanzan chispas al caminar.
en los años 60.
por un periodista.
has improved since then.
ha mejorado desde entonces.
to do in a broadcast interview,
en una rueda de prensa,
the emails started coming.
then thousands and thousands,
to women in their '90s,
hasta mujeres de 90 y tantos,
"Please, can I help?
"Por favor, ¿puedo ayudar?
at party headquarters?"
en la sede del partido?"
we didn't have a party!
¡No teníamos partido!
tight group of fabulous friends
maravilloso y compacto de amigas fabulosas
pretty much 24-7 in our pajamas.
casi 24/7 en pijama.
many of us had children,
muchas teníamos hijos,
y compartimos el trabajo.
and we shared the work.
on certain fundamental things.
ciertas cosas fundamentales.
the only political party in the world
partido político del mundo
no fuera la necesidad de existir.
to no longer need to exist.
with no particular political leaning.
sin una inclinación política particular.
from the right, from the middle,
de la derecha, del centro,
was to work with a simple agenda:
con una agenda simple:
in every aspect of our lives,
en cada aspecto de la vida,
the other chores done.
las otras tareas.
de hacer política.
how politics is conducted.
dos partidos políticos importantes.
two major political parties.
is shameful and poisonous.
vergonzosa y ponzoñosa.
that kind of name-calling --
han oído cosas de ese estilo...
if just one politician said,
and get the job done."
y hacer que funcione"?
into politics, OK?
a la política siendo
more women into politics
to offer free childcare to our candidates,
infantil gratuito para sus candidatas,
and start campaigning.
y empezar la campaña.
of our party across the UK.
del partido en el Reino Unido.
in London, Scotland and Wales
en Londres, Escocia y Gales
for our candidate for London Mayor.
nuestra candidata a alcalde de Londres.
saw how many votes we were attracting,
vieron los votos que estábamos atrayendo,
to tackle gender equality.
de abordar la igualdad de género.
change since I was a child.
un cambio desde que era niña.
shoulder to shoulder with men.
codo a codo con los hombres.
and disappointment --
y decepción...
to found a political party.
para fundar un partido político.
this is my five percent, OK?
mi 5 %, ¿de acuerdo?
party for equality in a single country.
para la igualdad en un solo país.
in the global political landscape.
en el panorama político global.
about the model we have created
del modelo que hemos creado
funcionaría en India.
it would work in India.
perfecta: cualquiera puede cocinarla,
anybody can cook it,
we're giving it away.
la estamos regalando.
millions of women across the world
a millones de mujeres en todo el mundo
batallas tradicionales de la política?
to the traditional battles of politics?
let's get the work done."
hagamos el trabajo".
equality is better for everyone.
la igualdad es mejor para todos.
Let's change the world!
¡Cambiemos el mundo!
y que debe hacerse!
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sandi Toksvig - Broadcast personality, politician, authorLong revered in the UK for her wit and candor, Sandi Toksvig is now lending her familiar voice to a greater cause -- equality for women.
Why you should listen
Sandi Toksvig OBE is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and performer. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark but grew up traveling the world with her family as they followed the work of her father, Claus Toksvig, Danish television's most famous foreign correspondent. Toksvig gave her own first television interview when she was six. After graduating with a first class degree from Cambridge University she began her acting career first at Nottingham Playhouse and then the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park.
Toksvig's first experience of live television was when she hosted and co-wrote the children's Saturday morning show "No 73," which she did for six years. Other TV followed including the improvisation show, "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and six years as team captain on "Call My Bluff." Toksvig is the new host of the BBC's entertainment show QI and is currently recording the eighth season hosting the game show "15-1" for Channel 4. She has also had recent acting cameos in "Call the Midwife" and "Up the Women." Toksvig is well known on BBC Radio 4 for her appearances on "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" as well as hosting "Excess Baggage" and the News Quiz.
Toksvig has also produced television. The current Playhouse Presents strand on Sky Arts was conceived by her and she produced and wrote much of the content for the first three years.
Toksvig has written over twenty books including fact and fiction for both children and adults. Her stage play, Bully Boy, was the opening production of London's newest theatre, the St James. The piece also had a successful run in Copenhagen. Her latest novel The End of the Sky, set on the Oregon Trail in 1847, will be published in 2017. It's a sequel to her last novel A Slice of the Moon about the Irish potato famine. Her new comedy play Silver Linings deals with society's attitudes to older women. It will open at the Rose Theatre in February 2017 before going on tour. Toksvig has written a column for Good Housekeeping magazine for twenty years.
In March 2015, along with journalist Catherine Mayer, Toksvig co-founded Britain's newest political party, The Women’s Equality Party (WEP), which in one year of existence now has over 70 branches across the UK. WEP stood candidates in the London, Welsh and Scottish elections of May 2016.
Toksvig has many honorary degrees. She is the President of the Women of the Year Lunch, Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth and in 2014 she was made an Officer of the British Empire by the Queen.
Sandi Toksvig | Speaker | TED.com