Halla Tómasdóttir: It's time for women to run for office
Halla Tómasdóttir: Es hora de que las mujeres se candidaten
Icelandic entrepreneur Halla Tómasdóttir believes that if you’re going to change things, you have to do it from the inside. She infused the world of finance with “feminine values," which helped her survive the financial meltdown in Iceland and nearly made her president. Full bio
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to be the best place in the world
se pusieron en huelga.
the center of Reykjavík --
when women are not at work.
cuando las mujeres faltan al trabajo.
Icelanders had the courage
los islandeses tuvieron el coraje
as their president.
a una mujer como presidente.
as we know her by her first name,
que es su nombre de pila,
of her own home,
by her side as she had won.
con su hija a su lado.
growing up at that time,
of how a young boy approached her
un niño pequeño se acercó a ella
really grow up to be president?"
"¿Los niños pueden ser presidentes?".
to run for president,
a postularme como presidenta,
"Who am I to run for president?
"¿Quién soy yo para ser presentarme?
to consider running than men.
en comparación con los hombres.
llevado a cabo en 2011,
had considered running for office,
presentarse a las elecciones,
that existed a decade earlier.
que existía hace una década.
is in real need for women leaders
necesita líderes femeninos
of creating the world
a la creación de un mundo
both our boys and girls
permitamos a nuestros niños y niñas
as many as 20 candidates.
20 candidatos potenciales.
nine candidates qualifying,
came down to four of us,
we had our own drama in Iceland.
tuvimos lo nuestro en Islandia.
nuestro presidente durante 20 años
that he was not going to run,
que no iba a presentarse,
consideraran la presidencia.
en los infames Papeles de Panamá.
protest in Iceland,
they needed a trusted leader.
que necesitaban un líder de confianza.
to his wife and her family's companies
y las compañías de su familia
con los Papeles de Panamá,
running for office.
ocupar su lugar en la presidencia.
45 días antes de las elecciones,
in the newspaper.
her candidacy had earned.
to say that I had to work extremely hard
que tuve que trabajar muy duro
that they would only include
que solo invitaría
or more in the polls
o más en las encuestas
of the first TV debate
along with the three men,
junto a los tres hombres,
on the day of the first TV debate.
un 2,5% en las encuestas ese mismo día.
and overcome on this journey
que tuve que afrontar y superar
gender doesn't matter
que el género no importa
to both get access and airtime in media.
a los medios y tener minutos de pantalla.
appeared in broadcast media
apareció en los medios
leading up to the elections,
precedentes a las elecciones,
media is doing this consciously.
esto de forma consciente.
de una subjetividad inconsciente
with unconscious bias,
much like everywhere else,
como en cualquier ámbito,
and unconscious bias,
e inconsciente,
to talk about it if we want to change it.
si queremos cambiarlo.
"Are you going to quit?"
"¿Vas a abandonar?".
to 2.5 percent in the polls,
y un 2,5% en las encuentas,
and every time I appeared on TV,
y cada vez que aparecía en la tele,
a rise in the polls,
una subida en las encuestas;
sobre su importancia
out of the final four candidates
asked of all other candidates
que se les hacían a los otros candidatos
to compliment the Icelandic media.
de la prensa islandesa.
about my hair and pantsuit.
sobre mi pelo y traje pantalón.
that's very important.
or muscle behind me.
o apoyo detrás de mí.
and do politics differently.
y hacer política de una forma diferente.
of the election for others by doing that.
el tono de las elecciones para otros.
why I had less airtime on TV,
menos minutos de pantalla,
other contenders respect.
hacia otros candidatos.
proved to be so difficult,
on anything and responded on the spot.
sobre cualquier tema y en directo.
and all the answers on an open Facebook
y respuestas en una página pública
transparency is important
que la transparencia es importante
proved to be challenging,
resultó ser un desafío,
to teach me how to do that,
para que me enseñaran
during the last part of the campaign.
durante la última parte de la campaña.
and humility, as I was very bad at it.
y humildad porque se me daba fatal.
amongst young people by doing that.
entre los jóvenes solo con hacer eso.
a different type of campaign.
una campaña diferente.
about politics without mentioning money.
hablar de política sin nombrar el dinero.
but it's true,
pero es la verdad,
than the other candidates.
que el resto de candidatos.
asking for financial support.
solicitar apoyo económico.
to do more with less.
de hacer más con menos.
que es muy femenino por mi parte.
one third the financial resources,
de los recursos mediáticos y económicos,
but an amazing team,
on election night,
la noche electoral,
as you may see in that photo.
como podéis ver en la foto.
to the leading candidate.
because I didn't quite pull that,
from the one percent,
by an unprecedented margin,
con un margen sin precedentes,
above what the last poll came in at.
por encima de las últimas previsiones.
of the election because of this,
que soy la verdadera ganadora
who encouraged me to run again.
a que me presente de nuevo.
support from the young people,
my daughter to run in 2040.
se presente en 2040.
I observed her on TV repeatedly,
la observé en televisión
y segura de sí misma,
supportive of her mother.
the highlight of my campaign.
a poster of me on a bus stop,
en la parada de bus
enough of a win for me.
el miedo y los desafíos.
las mujeres se candidaten,
or the office of the president.
on your very own "New Yorker."
la atención de vuestro "New Yorker".
"A living emoji of sincerity."
"Un emoticono viviente de la sinceridad".
that women too often get penalized
a menudo se las penaliza
their emotional capital,
su capital emocional,
that we become so good
que somos muy buenas
on election night,
have to reach that office.
necesariamente de ganar
everyone working with you,
y todos lo que trabajan contigo,
anything you will experience before.
de lo que lo hayan hecho nunca.
than I can share here
and perseverance to not quit,
y perseverante para no abandonar,
that I knew before on the one percent day,
desde antes del día del 1%,
listening to your own voice
lo que dicta tu propia voz
and you all know this,
y Uds. ya lo saben,
who share your values, your vision,
que comparte tus valores y visión
un marido maravilloso,
as entrepreneurs in the political arena,
en la esfera política,
that everyone said would be impossible.
que todo el mundo creía imposible.
the leading PR expert told me
because he was probably right,
que seguramente era acertada
on valuable experience.
that he was wrong.
because I did lose a lot of sleep,
porque no dormí mucho
and so did the people with me.
pero también lo hizo mi gente.
if we forget to take care of ourselves.
si no cuidamos de nosotros mismos.
are very important in that,
and practices that nourish you,
y prácticas que te enriquecen,
maybe even more important,
o incluso más,
to get rid of people and practices
de la gente y prácticas
and commentators.
y comentaristas.
from others in doing this,
when others went low,
cuando otros se rebajaban,
my energy going throughout all of this.
me mantuve con energía durante el proceso.
it wasn't easy --
no fue fácil...
que me empujó a presentarme
dirigir mi propia campaña.
representan palabras islandesas.
and everybody else in the campaign.
y de quien participara en la campaña.
out of the journey,
was reached or not.
de si llegábamos al destino o no.
to inspire others to do so as well.
a otros a hacer lo mismo.
on Facebook and websites.
en las páginas web.
choosing your president,
si vas a elegir a tu presidente,
en el principio de "Girlpower".
will agree with me,
coincidirá conmigo,
without saying
is ready to move to Iceland
está dispuesto a irse a Islandia
can't vote there,
como para recordar 1975,
in launching the women's movement.
por los derechos de la mujer.
I'd love to bring the picture back up
Me gustaría proyectar la foto de nuevo
when a country came to a standstill.
que un país se paralizara.
did not report it,
no lo ha cubierto,
walked out again on Monday. Right?
de nuevo a la calle el lunes, ¿no?
PM: Can you tell us about that?
PM: ¿Qué puedes contarnos sobre eso?
after the original strike,
in the world to be a woman,
they had earned their day's salary.
su sueldo diario.
that we close the pay gap.
fin a la diferencia salarial.
Halla to commit right now
que nos confiese ahora mismo
a very large volunteer army
legión de voluntarios
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Halla Tómasdóttir - Change catalystIcelandic entrepreneur Halla Tómasdóttir believes that if you’re going to change things, you have to do it from the inside. She infused the world of finance with “feminine values," which helped her survive the financial meltdown in Iceland and nearly made her president.
Why you should listen
Tómasdóttir's philosophy is simple: (1) the challenges we're facing today won't be solved by testosterone alone; (2) the world would be a better, safer, more sustainable place if we could infuse finance, business and politics with more gender balance; and (3) it's easier to change things from the inside.
True to this philosophy, Tómasdóttir co-founded Audur Capital in 2008, the world's first investment firm based on "feminine values." Audur was one of few financial companies in Iceland to survive the crash. Tómasdóttir has since been an active change catalyst, advocating for principle-based leadership and more women around decision-making tables.
In 2016, responding to popular demand (and a viral Facebook campaign), Tómasdóttir ran for president of Iceland. A woman in a man's race. Polls initially put Tómasdóttir as an outsider, predicting 1 percent of the vote. A few weeks later, against all odds, Tómasdóttir came in second supported by 28 percent of Icelanders.
Halla Tómasdóttir | Speaker | TED.com