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?

Dame Stephanie Shirley: Por que as mulheres ambiciosas têm cabeças chatas?

Filmed:
2,164,868 views

Dame Stephanie Shirley é a mais bem-sucedida empreendedora da área de tecnologia sobre a qual você jamais ouviu. Na década de 1960, ela fundou uma empresa de software pioneira, só com mulheres, no Reino Unido, que chegou a valer $3 bilhões de dólares, tornando milionárias 70 de suas funcionárias. Nesta palestra sincera e, em vários momentos, hilária, ela explica por que se passou por "Steve", como ela contrariou as expectativas da época e compartilha formas infalíveis de se identificar mulheres ambiciosas.
- 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.

Quando escrevi minha autobiografia,
00:12
When I wrote my memoir,
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as editoras ficaram muito confusas.
00:14
the publishers were really confused.
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Era sobre minha infância como refugiada,
00:18
Was it about me as a child refugee,
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ou como uma mulher que montou
uma empresa de software
00:22
or as a woman who set up a high-tech
software company back in the 1960s,
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de alta tecnologia nos anos 60,
00:28
one that went public
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que se tornou pública e que, por fim,
00:30
and eventually employed over 8,500 people?
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empregava mais de 8,5 mil pessoas?
Ou era como a mãe de uma criança autista?
00:34
Or was it as a mother
of an autistic child?
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Ou como uma mulher dedicada à filantropia,
que já doou um bom dinheiro?
00:39
Or as a philanthropist that's
now given away serious money?
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Bem, na verdade, sou todas essas.
00:43
Well, it turns out, I'm all of these.
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Então, vou contar minha história.
00:46
So let me tell you my story.
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00:51
All that I am stems from when
I got onto a train in Vienna,
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Tudo o que sou vem de quando
entrei em um trem em Viena,
que fazia parte do transporte de crianças
que salvou quase 10 mil crianças judias
00:58
part of the Kindertransport that saved
nearly 10,000 Jewish children
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da Europa nazista.
01:03
from Nazi Europe.
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01:05
I was five years old, clutching the hand
of my nine-year-old sister
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Eu tinha cinco anos, apertando
a mão de minha irmã de nove anos
01:09
and had very little idea as to
what was going on.
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e fazia pouquíssima ideia
do que estava acontecendo.
"O que é Inglaterra
e por que estou indo para lá?"
01:13
"What is England and
why am I going there?"
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01:18
I'm only alive because so long ago,
I was helped by generous strangers.
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Só estou viva porque, muito tempo atrás,
recebi ajuda de generosos desconhecidos.
01:26
I was lucky, and doubly lucky
to be later reunited
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Tive sorte, e tive sorte dobrada
por ter mais tarde reencontrado
01:30
with my birth parents.
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meus pais biológicos.
Mas, infelizmente,
nunca mais tivemos laços.
01:32
But, sadly, I never bonded
with them again.
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Mas fiz mais nas sete décadas
após aquele triste dia
01:39
But I've done more in the seven decades
since that miserable day
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em que minha mãe me colocou no trem
01:43
when my mother put me on the train
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do que jamais poderia sonhar ser possível.
01:45
than I would ever have dreamed possible.
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E eu amo a Inglaterra,
meu país por adoção,
01:48
And I love England, my adopted country,
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com paixão tal que talvez somente alguém
01:51
with a passion that perhaps only someone
who has lost their human rights can feel.
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que perdeu seus direitos
humanos possa sentir.
Decidi fazer da minha vida
uma vida que valesse ser salva.
01:57
I decided to make mine a life
that was worth saving.
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Então, eu segui em frente com ela.
02:04
And then, I just got on with it.
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02:07
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Vamos voltar ao início dos anos 1960.
02:11
Let me take you back to the early 1960s.
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Para superar as questões
de gênero da época,
02:15
To get past the gender issues of the time,
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montei minha própria empresa de software
02:19
I set up my own software house at one
of the first such startups in Britain.
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uma das primeiras startups
deste tipo na Grã-Bretanha,
mas também era uma empresa de mulheres,
uma empresa para mulheres,
02:26
But it was also a company of women,
a company for women,
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um empreendimento social desde o início.
02:32
an early social business.
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As pessoas riam só de pensar,
porque software, naquela época,
02:35
And people laughed at the very idea
because software, at that time,
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vinha de graça com o hardware.
02:39
was given away free with hardware.
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Ninguém comprava software;
certamente não de uma mulher.
02:41
Nobody would buy software,
certainly not from a woman.
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02:45
Although women were then coming out
of the universities with decent degrees,
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Embora mulheres estivessem saindo
das faculdades com bons diplomas,
havia um teto de vidro em nosso progresso.
02:51
there was a glass ceiling to our progress.
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02:56
And I'd hit that glass ceiling too often,
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E eu batia nesse teto de vidro
com muita frequência,
03:00
and I wanted opportunities for women.
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querendo oportunidades para mulheres.
Recrutei mulheres
profissionalmente qualificadas,
03:04
I recruited professionally qualified women
who'd left the industry on marriage,
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que tinham deixado de trabalhar
para se casar,
ou quando gestantes de seu primeiro filho,
03:09
or when their first child was expected
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e montei uma empresa
em que elas trabalhavam em casa.
03:11
and structured them into a
home-working organization.
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Fomos pioneiras no conceito de mulheres
voltarem ao mercado de trabalho
03:16
We pioneered the concept of women
going back into the workforce
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após uma pausa na carreira.
03:21
after a career break.
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Fomos pioneiras em todo tipo de métodos
de trabalho novos e flexíveis:
03:23
We pioneered all sorts of
new, flexible work methods:
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trabalho em turnos, divisão de lucros
e, por fim, sociedade,
03:27
job shares, profit-sharing,
and eventually, co-ownership
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quando pus um quarto da empresa
nas mãos do corpo funcional da empresa,
03:32
when I took a quarter of the company
into the hands of the staff
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03:36
at no cost to anyone but me.
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sem custos para ninguém além de mim mesma.
Por anos, fui "a primeira mulher isso",
ou "a única mulher aquilo".
03:41
For years, I was the first woman this,
or the only woman that.
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E naquela época, eu não podia
trabalhar no mercado de ações,
03:47
And in those days, I couldn't work
on the stock exchange,
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não podia dirigir um ônibus,
nem pilotar um avião.
03:51
I couldn't drive a bus or fly an airplane.
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03:55
Indeed, I couldn't open a bank account
without my husband's permission.
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Não podia sequer abrir uma conta
bancária sem a permissão do meu marido.
As mulheres da minha geração
lutaram pelo direito de trabalhar
04:01
My generation of women fought
the battles for the right to work
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e pelo direito à igualdade salarial.
04:05
and the right for equal pay.
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Ninguém esperava muito das pessoas
no trabalho ou na sociedade
04:10
Nobody really expected much
from people at work or in society
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04:14
because all the expectations then
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porque todas as expectativas na época
eram quanto às responsabilidades
para com o lar e a família.
04:16
were about home and
family responsibilities.
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Eu não conseguia me conformar com aquilo
04:20
And I couldn't really face that,
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e comecei a desafiar
as convenções da época,
04:23
so I started to challenge
the conventions of the time,
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a ponto de mudar meu nome,
de "Stephanie" para "Steve",
04:29
even to the extent of changing my name
from "Stephanie" to "Steve"
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nas correspondências da empresa,
04:35
in my business development letters,
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04:36
so as to get through the door
before anyone realized
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saindo correndo pela porta antes
que percebessem que "ele" era "ela".
04:39
that he was a she.
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04:40
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Minha empresa, a Freelance Programmers,
cujo nome é exatamente o que ela era,
04:44
My company, called Freelance Programmers,
and that's precisely what it was,
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não poderia ter começado menor:
à mesa da sala de jantar,
04:51
couldn't have started smaller:
on the dining room table,
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financiada com o equivalente
a 100 dólares em dinheiro atual,
04:56
and financed by the equivalent
of 100 dollars in today's terms,
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financiada com meu trabalho
e com o imóvel como garantia.
05:01
and financed by my labor and
by borrowing against the house.
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Meus interesses eram científicos,
o mercado era comercial --
05:08
My interests were scientific,
the market was commercial --
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coisas como folha de pagamento,
que eu achava bem chatas.
05:14
things such as payroll,
which I found rather boring.
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05:18
So I had to compromise with
operational research work,
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Então, tive de desenvolver um trabalho
de pesquisa operacional,
o que tinha o desafio intelectual
que me interessava
05:23
which had the intellectual challenge
that interested me
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e o valor comercial
valorizado pelos clientes:
05:27
and the commercial value
that was valued by the clients:
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coisas como organizar
horários de trens de carga
05:34
things like scheduling freight trains,
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e de ônibus; controlar estoques,
muito controle de estoque.
05:40
time-tabling buses, stock control,
lots and lots of stock control.
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Por fim, o trabalho deslanchou.
05:46
And eventually, the work came in.
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Driblamos a natureza do trabalho em casa
e em meio período das funcionárias
05:50
We disguised the domestic and
part-time nature of the staff
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oferecendo preços fixos,
sendo uma das primeiras a fazer isso.
05:54
by offering fixed prices,
one of the very first to do so.
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E quem poderia imaginar que a programação
05:59
And who would have guessed
that the programming
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da caixa-preta do Concorde supersônico
06:02
of the black box flight recorder
of Supersonic Concord
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seria feita por um bando de mulheres
trabalhando em suas próprias casas?
06:06
would have been done by a bunch
of women working in their own homes.
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06:11
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
06:19
All we used was a simple
"trust the staff" approach
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Tudo que fizemos foi usar uma abordagem
de confiança para com as funcionárias,
e um telefone comum.
06:24
and a simple telephone.
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Nós perguntávamos às novas candidatas:
"Você tem acesso a telefone?"
06:26
We even used to ask job applicants,
"Do you have access to a telephone?"
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(Risos)
Um projeto inicial foi desenvolver
padrões de software
06:34
An early project was to develop
software standards
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ou protocolos de controle gerencial.
06:37
on management control protocols.
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Fazer software era e ainda é
06:39
And software was and still is a
maddeningly hard-to-control activity,
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uma atividade enlouquecedoramente
difícil de controlar,
e isso foi de enorme valor.
06:45
so that was enormously valuable.
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Nós mesmas usávamos os padrões,
06:47
We used the standards ourselves,
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éramos até pagas para atualizá-los
ao longo dos anos
06:49
we were even paid to update
them over the years,
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e, por fim, eles foram adotados pela OTAN.
06:52
and eventually, they were adopted by NATO.
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Nossas programadoras --
lembrem-se, apenas mulheres,
06:58
Our programmers -- remember, only women,
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inclusive mulheres gays e transgêneras --
07:02
including gay and transgender --
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trabalhavam com lápis e papel
para desenvolver fluxogramas,
07:05
worked with pencil and paper
to develop flowcharts
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definindo cada tarefa a ser realizada.
07:10
defining each task to be done.
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Depois, elas escreviam código,
normalmente código de máquina,
07:14
And they then wrote code,
usually machine code,
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às vezes código binário,
07:18
sometimes binary code,
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que era então enviado via correio
a um centro de dados
07:20
which was then sent
by mail to a data center
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para ser perfurado
em fita de papel ou cartão
07:25
to be punched onto
paper tape or card
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e depois novamente perfurado,
como forma de conferência.
07:29
and then re-punched,
in order to verify it.
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Tudo isso bem antes de chegar perto
do computador.
07:34
All this, before it ever got
near a computer.
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Essa era a programação
do início da década de 1960.
07:37
That was programming in the early 1960s.
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Em 1975, 13 anos depois
de inciada a empresa,
07:43
In 1975, 13 years from startup,
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foram criadas leis de igualdade
de oportunidades na Grã-Bretanha
07:48
equal opportunity legislation
came in in Britain
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e elas tornaram ilegal termos
nossas políticas pró-mulher.
07:51
and that made it illegal to have
our pro-female policies.
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E como exemplo
de consequências inesperadas,
07:58
And as an example of
unintended consequences,
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08:02
my female company had to let the men in.
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minha empresa feminina
teve de aceitar homens.
08:06
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Quando comecei minha empresa de mulheres,
08:11
When I started my company of women,
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os homens disseram: "Que interessante.
Ela só dá certo porque é pequena".
08:13
the men said, "How interesting, because
it only works because it's small."
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Depois, quando ela cresceu,
eles aceitaram: "É, agora ela é bem maior,
08:20
And later, as it became sizable,
they accepted, "Yes, it is sizable now,
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mas não é de interesse estratégico".
08:26
but of no strategic interest."
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Mais tarde, quando a empresa valia
mais de três bilhões de dólares
08:30
And later, when it was a company
valued at over three billion dollars,
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e eu tinha tornado milionárias
70 de nossas funcionárias,
08:37
and I'd made 70 of the staff
into millionaires,
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eles admitiram: "Parabéns, Steve!"
08:41
they sort of said, "Well done, Steve!"
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08:45
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
(Aplausos)
08:49
(Applause)
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Você sempre pode identificar mulheres
ambiciosas pelo formato de nossa cabeça:
08:53
You can always tell ambitious women
by the shape of our heads:
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são achatadas no alto por causa
dos tapinhas condescendentes que nos dão.
08:58
They're flat on top for being
patted patronizingly.
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09:01
(Laughter) (Applause)
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(Risos) (Aplausos)
09:07
And we have larger feet to stand
away from the kitchen sink.
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E temos pés maiores para ficarmos
longe da pia da cozinha.
09:12
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Vou contar a vocês
dois segredos para o sucesso:
09:13
Let me share with you
two secrets of success:
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cerque-se de pessoas de primeira
e de pessoas de quem você goste,
09:17
Surround yourself with first-class people
and people that you like;
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e escolha seu companheiro
com muito, muito cuidado,
09:23
and choose your partner
very, very carefully.
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porque quando eu disse outro dia:
"Meu marido é um anjo",
09:30
Because the other day when I said,
"My husband's an angel,"
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uma mulher reclamou --
"Você tem sorte", disse ela,
09:33
a woman complained --
"You're lucky," she said,
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"O meu ainda está vivo".
09:35
"mine's still alive."
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(Risos) (Aplausos)
09:37
(Laughter)
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Se o sucesso fosse fácil,
todos seríamos milionários.
09:45
If success were easy,
we'd all be millionaires.
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09:51
But in my case, it came in the midst
of family trauma and indeed, crisis.
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Mas, no meu caso, ele veio em meio
a traumas de família e, sim, crise.
10:01
Our late son, Giles, was an only child,
a beautiful, contented baby.
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Giles, nosso falecido filho,
era filho único,
um bebê lindo e alegre.
Então, aos dois anos e meio,
10:09
And then, at two and a half,
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como se tivesse sido trocado,
como em contos de fadas,
10:13
like a changeling in a fairy story,
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10:16
he lost the little speech that he had
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ele perdeu o pouco de fala que tinha
10:20
and turned into a wild,
unmanageable toddler.
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e se tornou uma criança
selvagem e indócil.
Não era aquela fase normal da infância;
10:25
Not the terrible twos;
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10:27
he was profoundly autistic
and he never spoke again.
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ele era profundamente autista
e nunca mais falou novamente.
Giles foi o primeiro morador da primeira
organização de caridade que criei,
10:36
Giles was the first resident in the first
house of the first charity that I set up
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10:41
to pioneer services for autism.
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pioneira em serviços para o autismo.
Então, surgiu a inovadora
escola Prior's Court,
10:45
And then there's been
a groundbreaking Prior's Court school
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para alunos com autismo
10:48
for pupils with autism
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e uma entidade de caridade de pesquisa
médica, novamente para o autismo,
10:50
and a medical research charity,
again, all for autism.
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porque sempre que eu encontrava
uma lacuna em serviços, eu tentava ajudar.
10:54
Because whenever I found a gap
in services, I tried to help.
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Gosto de fazer coisas novas
e de fazê-las acontecerem.
11:01
I like doing new things
and making new things happen.
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E acabo de abrir uma empresa
incubadora de ideias para o autismo
11:06
And I've just started a three-year
think tank for autism.
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E para que parte da minha riqueza
volte ao negócio de onde ela vem,
11:13
And so that some of my wealth does go back
to the industry from which it stems,
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também fundei o Oxford Internet Institute
11:18
I've also founded
the Oxford Internet Institute
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11:22
and other IT ventures.
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e outros empreendimentos em TI.
O Oxford Internet Institute
foca não a tecnologia,
11:24
The Oxford Internet Institute
focuses not on the technology,
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mas as questões sociais, econômicas,
legais e éticas da internet.
11:28
but on the social, economic, legal
and ethical issues of the Internet.
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Faz 17 anos que Giles morreu
de forma inesperada.
11:35
Giles died unexpectedly 17 years ago now.
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11:42
And I have learned to live without him,
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Aprendi a viver sem ele
e aprendi a viver sem a necessidade
que ele tinha de mim.
11:46
and I have learned to live
without his need of me.
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A filantropia é tudo o que faço hoje.
11:51
Philanthropy is all that I do now.
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Jamais preciso me preocupar
em ficar perdida,
11:54
I need never worry about getting lost
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porque várias entidades de caridade
rapidamente me achariam.
11:57
because several charities
would quickly come and find me.
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12:00
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
(Risos)
Uma coisa é idealizar um empreendimento,
12:12
It's one thing to have an idea
for an enterprise,
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mas todos nesta sala sabem
12:16
but as many people in this room will know,
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2227
que tornar essa ideia real
é algo bem difícil
12:19
making it happen is a very difficult thing
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e requer capacidade, autoconfiança
e determinação extraordinárias,
12:22
and it demands extraordinary energy,
self-belief and determination,
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coragem de pôr em risco a família e o lar,
12:30
the courage to risk family and home,
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e um comprometimento incansável
que beira a obsessão.
12:34
and a 24/7 commitment
that borders on the obsessive.
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Então, eu também sou
"viciada em trabalho".
12:39
So it's just as well
that I'm a workaholic.
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Acredito na beleza do trabalho, quando
feito de forma apropriada e com humildade.
12:43
I believe in the beauty of work when we
do it properly and in humility.
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Trabalho não é algo que faço quando
gostaria de estar fazendo outra coisa.
12:50
Work is not just something I do
when I'd rather be doing something else.
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12:57
We live our lives forward.
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Tocamos nossa vida adiante.
12:59
So what has all that taught me?
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Então, o que tudo isso me ensinou?
Aprendi que o amanhã
jamais será como hoje
13:04
I learned that tomorrow's
never going to be like today,
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e, certamente, nada parecido com ontem.
13:07
and certainly nothing like yesterday.
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Isso me tornou capaz
de lidar com a mudança
13:10
And that made me able to cope with change,
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e até, por fim, a receber bem a mudança,
13:14
indeed, eventually to welcome change,
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embora digam
que eu ainda sou muito difícil.
13:18
though I'm told I'm still very difficult.
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Muito obrigada.
13:23
Thank you very much.
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(Aplausos)
13:25
(Applause)
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Translated by Leonardo Silva
Reviewed by Elena Crescia

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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

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