Morgana Bailey: The danger of hiding who you are
Morgana Bailey: O perigo de agochar quen es
A human resources activist, Morgana Bailey wants to see the diversity of society reflected in the workplace, and employees of all walks of life feel comfortable being open about who they are. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I prided myself as a nonconformist
de ser unha inconformista
U.S. state I live in, Kansas.
weird clothing trends or hairstyles.
roupa ou peiteados raros.
of my London semester abroad 16 years ago
en Londres, hai 16 anos
if I was perceived as weird or different.
se pensaban que era rara ou diferente.
I was in London, 16 years ago,
que era de algunha forma único,
that actually was somewhat unique,
do que pensaba que era.
of who I thought I once was.
instead of socializing.
en vez de quedar coa xente.
and leadership activities.
e as actividades de liderado.
in the crowd anymore.
I was growing up and maturing,
porque estaba medrando e madurando
looking for acceptance.
á necesidade de aceptación.
to needing acceptance.
non era unha persoa convencional.
something was different about me
that I began conforming and hiding.
saír do escondedoiro.
to step forward and speak out.
about what this talk was about,
about my TED Talk.
sobre a miña charla TED.
to this city 16 years later
para me deixar de esconder.
to finally stop hiding.
for 16 years?
to be defined by them.
about coming out in the past,
imaxinaba saír do armario,
but I just want to be known as Morgana,
que me coñecesen como Morgana,
ou "a miña compañeira gai Morgana".
or "my gay coworker Morgana."
metropolitan areas,
que escondese a verdade
that I have suppressed the truth
of not being accepted.
paralizábame.
mostra que moitísima xente
that a surprisingly large number of people
do seu comportamento ou aparencia
of their behavior or their appearance
and bisexual employees,
homosexuais e bisexuais,
some aspects of themselves
"gais de máis" no traballo.
appear at work "too gay."
e programas de inclusión,
and inclusion programs,
por seren eles mesmos no traballo,
to be themselves at work
conformity is critical
na súa carreira a longo prazo.
that so many people just like me
trying to hide themselves,
that my silence
que o meu silencio
e repercusións sociais a longo prazo.
and long-term social repercussions.
life expectancy is shortened
a esperanza de vida
in highly anti-gay communities
magazine this year,
seguirme escondendo.
afford to keep silent.
e os estigmas sociais son mortais.
social stigmas are a deadly combination.
en comunidades homófobas
in anti-gay communities
violence and suicide.
violencia e suicidio.
was simply a personal matter
como un asunto persoal,
and out into the community
and not share who I really am
e non revelar a miña propia identidade
to this exact same environment
there's no reason to share that I was gay,
por que dicir que era lesbiana
has social consequences
ten consecuencias sociais,
when I missed an opportunity
cando perdín unha oportunidade
in my own home state of Kansas.
de Kansas, o meu estado natal.
Representatives brought up a bill for vote
de Kansas
que permitiría
allowed businesses
to deny gays services.
para negar servizos a homosexuais.
in the Kansas House of Representatives.
businesses to not serve me.
que as empresas non me atendan
queer and questioning people?
transexuais e intersexuais?
with them about who I am.
quen son en realidade.
her father my experience?
a miña experiencia ao seu pai?
helped change his vote?
I had done nothing
in human resources,
en recursos humanos,
the development of employees,
dos traballadores,
that the diversity of society
por que a diversidade social
to advocate for diversity.
para avogar pola diversidade.
has anti-discrimination policies
contra a discriminación
bisexual and transgender people.
through their global inclusion programs.
é evidente
of this company, I will finally come out.
sairei por fin do armario.
of the opportunity,
my London journal and scrapbook
e o meu álbum de recortes
abroad 16 years ago,
from Toni Morrison's book, "Paradise."
de Toni Morrison, Paradise.
inside than outside."
dentro que fóra".
to myself at the bottom:
to get out and explore London,
para saír e explorar Londres,
to start exploring and embracing myself.
de comezar a explorar e a quererme.
until all these years later
até moitos anos despois
I will ever have to overcome
que vou ter que enfrontar
I will be able to change reality outside.
contra os meus medos internos,
that I have hidden for too long.
que estivo demasiado tempo oculta.
I will never hide again,
que nunca me hei volver esconder,
I can do something to change the data
poida facer algo para cambiar as cousas
be more themselves and more fulfilled
a que sexan eles mesmos
and personal lives.
coma persoal.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Morgana Bailey - Human resources professionalA human resources activist, Morgana Bailey wants to see the diversity of society reflected in the workplace, and employees of all walks of life feel comfortable being open about who they are.
Why you should listen
“I am in human resources, a profession that works to welcome, connect and encourage the development of employees,” says Morgana Bailey. At State Street, she directs the Global Human Resources data management team, which maintains data records for the company’s approximately 29,000 employees. Morgana collaborates with people across State Street as corporate policies, regulatory requirements and related employee data requirements continually evolve. Her career experiences have confirmed that the only constant is change, and one’s ability — or inability — to adapt can generate profound long-term outcomes.
At TED@StateStreet, Morgana Bailey revealed a part of herself that she had kept supressed for 16 years. She hopes that her openness will inspire others to stop hiding, and be open about who they are in both their personal and professional lives.
Morgana Bailey | Speaker | TED.com