We do not invest in victims, we invest in survivors. And in ways both big and small, the narrative of the victim shapes the way we see women. You can't count what you don't see. And we don't invest in what's invisible to us. But this is the face of resilience.
我哋唔會投資喺受害者身上 我哋投資喺生還者身上 無論受害者嘅故事係點 始終影響我哋對女性嘅睇法 只不過影響可以係大或者細咁解 我哋唔會相信未見過嘅嘢 所以我哋唔會投資喺見唔到嘅嘢 但呢個就係對抗逆境嘅面孔
Six years ago, I started writing about women entrepreneurs during and after conflict. I set out to write a compelling economic story, one that had great characters, that no one else was telling, and one that I thought mattered. And that turned out to be women.
六年前,我開始撰寫 關於女性企業家 面對逆境時同面對完逆境嘅報導 我打算寫一個好鼓舞嘅經濟故事 一個背後有著勁人 但未為人所知 而應該受關注嘅故事 而嗰啲勁人全部都係女性嚟
I had left ABC news and a career I loved at the age of 30 for business school, a path I knew almost nothing about. None of the women I had grown up with in Maryland had graduated from college, let alone considered business school. But they had hustled to feed their kids and pay their rent. And I saw from a young age that having a decent job and earning a good living made the biggest difference for families who were struggling.
我三十歲時離開 美國廣播公司新聞部我鍾意嘅崗位 去咗讀商學院 一個我冇乜認識嘅方向 喺馬利蘭州同我一齊成長嘅女性 無一個大學畢業 更遑論係商學院畢業 佢哋為咗子女、屋租張羅 而喺出邊賺錢 從小我就睇到 一份可以帶嚟富足收入嘅工 對經濟上過得非常之艱難嘅家庭嚟講 可以帶嚟莫大轉變
So if you're going to talk about jobs, then you have to talk about entrepreneurs. And if you're talking about entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict settings, then you must talk about women, because they are the population you have left. Rwanda in the immediate aftermath of the genocide was 77 percent female. I want to introduce you to some of those entrepreneurs I've met and share with you some of what they've taught me over the years.
講起工作 就先要講企業家 而如果你講緊 逆境之中同經歷逆境之後嘅企業家 就不得不提女性 因為佢哋一向都被忽略 盧旺達經歷完種族屠殺之後 有 77% 人口係女性 我想介紹我遇過嘅女性企業家 以及佢哋過去以嚟教我嘅嘢
I went to Afghanistan in 2005 to work on a Financial Times piece, and there I met Kamila, a young women who told me she had just turned down a job with the international community that would have paid her nearly $2,000 a month -- an astronomical sum in that context. And she had turned it down, she said, because she was going to start her next business, an entrepreneurship consultancy that would teach business skills to men and women all around Afghanistan. Business, she said, was critical to her country's future. Because long after this round of internationals left, business would help keep her country peaceful and secure. And she said business was even more important for women because earning an income earned respect and money was power for women.
2005 年我喺阿富汗 為《金融時報》做採訪 我喺當地認識咗 Kamila 一位啱啱拒絕咗 國際組織一份月薪接近二千美元嘅工 嘅年輕女子 佢拒絕 係因為要開展佢嘅事業 向阿富汗人提供企業顧問服務 傳授營商技巧 佢認為商業發展對佢國家嘅前途好重要 因為各國撤出阿富汗之後 營商可以為國家帶嚟和平同安全 而且營商對女性尤為重要 因為有收入就令佢哋獲得尊重 對女性嚟講,金錢就等如權力
So I was amazed. I mean here was a girl who had never lived in peace time who somehow had come to sound like a candidate from "The Apprentice." (Laughter) So I asked her, "How in the world do you know this much about business? Why are you so passionate?" She said, "Oh Gayle, this is actually my third business. My first business was a dressmaking business I started under the Taliban. And that was actually an excellent business, because we provided jobs for women all around our neighborhood. And that's really how I became an entrepreneur."
聽完之後,我非常之驚訝 因為呢位女子從未享受過和平嘅生活 聽落佢好似《飛黃騰達》嘅參加者一樣 (笑聲) 我問佢︰「你點解對做生意知咁多? 點解咁有熱情?」 佢答我︰「Gayle, 呢個已經係我第三次做生意。 我第一個生意係製衣, 喺塔利斑管治嗰陣就已經開始。 呢個生意好利害, 因為我哋為鄰近嘅婦女提供咗工作, 我就係咁成為企業家。」
Think about this: Here were girls who braved danger to become breadwinners during years in which they couldn't even be on their streets. And at a time of economic collapse when people sold baby dolls and shoe laces and windows and doors just to survive, these girls made the difference between survival and starvation for so many. I couldn't leave the story, and I couldn't leave the topic either, because everywhere I went I met more of these women who no one seemed to know about, or even wish to.
試諗下 喺嗰度嘅女仔當時連街都出唔到 但就冒住生命危險創業 正當經濟一片蕭條 其他人只可以賣洋娃娃 鞋帶、窗同門去糊口 呢啲女仔已經喺生存同飢餓之間 為好多人帶嚟改變 但我唔可以撇低呢啲故事唔寫 因為我之後去到邊 都遇到更多呢類型嘅女性 但無人知道佢哋 或者無興趣想知佢哋
I went on to Bosnia, and early on in my interviews I met with an IMF official who said, "You know, Gayle, I don't think we actually have women in business in Bosnia, but there is a lady selling cheese nearby on the side of the road. So maybe you could interview her." So I went out reporting and within a day I met Narcisa Kavazovic who at that point was opening a new factory on the war's former front lines in Sarajevo. She had started her business squatting in an abandoned garage, sewing sheets and pillow cases she would take to markets all around the city so that she could support the 12 or 13 family members who were counting on her for survival. By the time we met, she had 20 employees, most of them women, who were sending their boys and their girls to school. And she was just the start. I met women running essential oils businesses, wineries and even the country's largest advertising agency.
我之後去波斯尼亞做訪問 見到一位國際貨幣基金組織官員 佢同我講︰「Gayle, 我唔相信波斯尼亞有女性從事商業。 但路口附近就有位女士賣芝士, 或者你可以訪問下佢。」 於是我繼續做採訪 同一日我認識咗 Narcisa Kavazovic 佢喺昔日薩拉熱窩戰綫上面開咗間工廠 佢喺棄置嘅車房開始佢嘅事業 織床單同枕頭袋 之後拎著製成品攞去全市嘅市場度賣 收入支撐十二、三個屋企人 當時佢有二十個員工,大部分係女性 員工早就送咗仔女返學 而 Narcisa 只係做咗生意冇耐嘅女性 之後我仲遇見不同嘅女性 有賣精油,有賣酒 甚至有經營全國最大嘅廣告商
So these stories together became the Herald Tribune business cover. And when this story posted, I ran to my computer to send it to the IMF official. And I said, "Just in case you're looking for entrepreneurs to feature at your next investment conference, here are a couple of women."
所有呢的故事 都變成咗《先驅論壇報》嘅頭版 當報紙一登出呢啲故事 我即刻發電郵畀 嗰位國際貨幣基金組織官員 我話︰「如果你要喺下次嘅投資會 做企業家嘅專題, 呢度就有一班女性企業家你可以搵。」
(Applause)
(掌聲)
But think about this. The IMF official is hardly the only person to automatically file women under micro. The biases, whether intentional or otherwise, are pervasive, and so are the misleading mental images. If you see the word "microfinance," what comes to mind? Most people say women. And if you see the word "entrepreneur," most people think men. Why is that? Because we aim low and we think small when it comes to women.
但再諗下 嗰位官員未必係唯一睇小女性嘅人 呢種偏見,不論係咪特登 係無處不在嘅 更加唔好講對兩性錯得好緊要嘅觀念 例如當你見到「微型金融」呢個詞語 你哋有咩聯想? 好多人諗到女性 但如果見到「企業家」呢個詞語 大部份人會諗到男性 點解呢? 因為一提到女性 我哋就諗起「卑微」、「弱小」
Microfinance is an incredibly powerful tool that leads to self-sufficiency and self-respect, but we must move beyond micro-hopes and micro-ambitions for women, because they have so much greater hopes for themselves. They want to move from micro to medium and beyond. And in many places, they're there. In the U.S., women-owned businesses will create five and a half million new jobs by 2018. In South Korea and Indonesia, women own nearly half a million firms. China, women run 20 percent of all small businesses. And in the developing world overall, That figure is 40 to 50 percent.
微型金融係一個強大嘅工具 令女性可以自給自足同識得自我尊重 但女性唔要小小嘅希望同抱負 佢哋要嘅係對自己抱有更大嘅期望 佢哋唔再係微小,而係越嚟越重要 好多範疇都有女性嘅存在 喺美國,由女性持有嘅公司 去到 2018 年會創造到 550 萬個職位 喺南韓同印尼 有近 50 萬間公司由女性擁有 喺中國,有兩成嘅小企業由女性經營 喺發展中國家 女性經營小企業嘅數字 更加達到 40% 至 50%
Nearly everywhere I go, I meet incredibly interesting entrepreneurs who are seeking access to finance, access to markets and established business networks. They are often ignored because they're harder to help. It is much riskier to give a 50,000 dollar loan than it is to give a 500 dollar loan. And as the World Bank recently noted, women are stuck in a productivity trap. Those in small businesses can't get the capital they need to expand and those in microbusiness can't grow out of them.
差不多我去過嘅地方 我都遇到犀利嘅企業家 佢哋尋求融資、開拓市場 建立生意網絡 但佢哋經常被人忽視 因為人哋好難協助佢哋 借五萬蚊比借五百蚊有更加大風險 世界銀行最近指出女性墮入生產力陷阱 因為經營小企業嘅女性 得唔到資金擴展業務 而經營更小型生意嘅女性 就更加發展唔到
Recently I was at the State Department in Washington and I met an incredibly passionate entrepreneur from Ghana. She sells chocolates. And she had come to Washington, not seeking a handout and not seeking a microloan. She had come seeking serious investment dollars so that she could build the factory and buy the equipment she needs to export her chocolates to Africa, Europe, the Middle East and far beyond -- capital that would help her to employ more than the 20 people that she already has working for her, and capital that would fuel her own country's economic climb.
最近我喺美國國務院 遇到一位嚟自加納嘅女企業家 佢係賣朱古力嘅 佢嚟到 唔係為咗資金援助或者微型貸款 而係嚟尋求大筆投資 去起工廠、買機器、生產朱古力 出口去非洲、歐洲同中東 以至其他地方 佢需要資金聘請超過 20 位 已經幫佢打工嘅員工 亦需要資金可以幫助佢嘅國家經濟起飛
The great news is we already know what works. Theory and empirical evidence Have already taught us. We don't need to invent solutions because we have them -- cash flow loans based in income rather than assets, loans that use secure contracts rather than collateral, because women often don't own land. And Kiva.org, the microlender, is actually now experimenting with crowdsourcing small and medium sized loans. And that's just to start.
好消息係我哋知咩嘢係可行 因為理論同數據已經証明咗 我哋唔需要諗度 一個解決辦法出嚟 因為我哋已經有現金流貸款 現金流貸款係根據收入 而唔係資產而定嘅 貸款採用安全合同而非附屬合同 因為女性通常冇土地做抵押 Kiva.org 呢個微型貸款機構 就係試行緊小型同中型嘅眾籌貸款 但呢個試驗只係起步
Recently it has become very much in fashion to call women "the emerging market of the emerging market." I think that is terrific. You know why? Because -- and I say this as somebody who worked in finance -- 500 billion dollars at least has gone into the emerging markets in the past decade. Because investors saw the potential for return at a time of slowing economic growth, and so they created financial products and financial innovation tailored to the emerging markets.
最近好流行講︰ 「女性係新興市場中嘅新興市場」 我認為無得頂 點解呢? 因為以我從事金融業知道 過去十年有五千億美金注入咗新興市場 而因為投資者喺經濟放緩嘅時候 睇到有回報潛力 所以佢哋設計咗 專為新興市場而設嘅 金融產品同金融創新方案
How wonderful would it be if we were prepared to replace all of our lofty words with our wallets and invest 500 billion dollars unleashing women's economic potential? Just think of the benefits when it comes to jobs, productivity, employment, child nutrition, maternal mortality, literacy and much, much more. Because, as the World Economic Forum noted, smaller gender gaps are directly correlated with increased economic competitiveness. And not one country in all the world has eliminated its economic participation gap -- not one.
我哋如果可以唔講浮誇嘅說話 而係將五千億用嚟釋放 女性潛在嘅經濟能力 係幾咁好呢? 想像下呢的資金 對職位、生產力、就業、兒童嘅營養 產婦死亡率、識字率,以至更加多嘅嘢 幫助有幾大 因為世界經濟論壇指出 越小性別差距,越可以提高經濟競爭力 無一個國家可以消除 兩性參與商業活動上嘅不公現象 絕對無
So the great news is this is an incredible opportunity. We have so much room to grow. So you see, this is not about doing good, this is about global growth and global employment. It is about how we invest and it's about how we see women. And women can no longer be both half the population and a special interest group.
於是呢個就係一個大好機會喇 我哋仲有好多改善空間 所以呢個唔係為咗做好事 而係為咗全球嘅發展同全球嘅就業 所以女性就業問題 在於我哋點投資同點看待女性 女性已經唔只係一半人口同小數
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Oftentimes I get into very interesting discussions with reporters who say to me, "Gayle, these are great stories, but you're really writing about the exceptions." Now that makes me pause for just a couple reasons. First of all, for exceptions, there are a lot of them and they're important. Secondly, when we talk about men who are succeeding, we rightly consider them icons or pioneers or innovators to be emulated. And when we talk about women, they are either exceptions to be dismissed or aberrations to be ignored. And finally, there is no society anywhere in all the world that is not changed except by its most exceptional. So why wouldn't we celebrate and elevate these change makers and job creators rather than overlook them?
我經常同同行討論 佢哋話︰「Gayle,呢啲報導好正, 但你只係寫緊啲特殊例子。」 我真係因為佢哋嘅話而停落嚟 原因有幾個 首先,所謂特殊例子真係有好多 而且每個都好重要 第二,當我哋講成功男士嘅時候 我哋會以佢哋為 偶像、先驅或者搞創新嘅人 並尊佢哋為學習對象 但一講女性 我哋就當佢哋只係例外 或者奇人咁去忽視 最終,每一個國家要變嘅話 都要靠呢班特殊例子嘅人 咁點解我哋唔為呢啲 創造就業、帶嚟改變嘅人鼓掌? 反而對佢哋視而不見呢?
This topic of resilience is very personal to me and in many ways has shaped my life. My mom was a single mom who worked at the phone company during the day and sold Tupperware at night so that I could have every opportunity possible. We shopped double coupons and layaway and consignment stores, and when she got sick with stage four breast cancer and could no longer work, we even applied for food stamps. And when I would feel sorry for myself as nine or 10 year-old girls do, she would say to me, "My dear, on a scale of major world tragedies, yours is not a three."
韌力對我嚟講係好切身嘅嘢 韌力改變咗我好多 我屋企係個單親家庭 母親日頭喺電話公司工作 夜晚賣廚具用品 於是我可以接觸好多嘢 我哋盡量用優惠卷買嘢 選擇分期供款同買二手貨 當我媽媽患末期乳癌、唔可以再做嘢 我哋甚至要申請食物卷 當時我大概九、十歲 我覺得自己好可憐 但媽媽會同我講︰「乖女, 同世界上嘅慘劇相比,你算好好啦!」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And when I was applying to business school and felt certain I couldn't do it and nobody I knew had done it, I went to my aunt who survived years of beatings at the hand of her husband and escaped a marriage of abuse with only her dignity intact. And she told me, "Never import other people's limitations."
當我準備考商學院嘅時候 我覺得自己無咩機會 亦無人知我去考 嗰陣我去搵我阿姨 我阿姨佢長期被丈夫虐待 但最終好彩嘅身心幸存咁離咗婚 佢同我講︰ 「千祈唔好比其他人限制你。」
And when I complained to my grandmother, a World War II veteran who worked in film for 50 years and who supported me from the age of 13, that I was terrified that if I turned down a plum assignment at ABC for a fellowship overseas, I would never ever, ever find another job, she said, "Kiddo, I'm going to tell you two things. First of all, no one turns down a Fulbright, and secondly, McDonald's is always hiring." (Laughter) "You will find a job. Take the leap."
我當時又去咗搵婆婆呻 佢不但係二戰軍人 仲喺電影工業做咗半個世紀 又由我 13 歲開始就照顧我 我嗰陣同婆婆講 我驚如果去咗外國深造 而放棄美國廣播公司呢份荀工 我以後都唔會再搵嘢做 但佢講︰「阿妹,我話你知兩樣嘢。 第一,唔會有人放棄獎學金; 第二,麥記成日都請人㗎。」 (笑聲) 「你會搵到工嘅,放膽去啦!」
The women in my family are not exceptions. The women in this room and watching in L.A. and all around the world are not exceptions. We are not a special interest group. We are the majority. And for far too long, we have underestimated ourselves and been undervalued by others. It is time for us to aim higher when it comes to women, to invest more and to deploy our dollars to benefit women all around the world.
我屋企嘅女性並唔係咩特殊例子 喺呢個講座同喺洛杉磯睇直播嘅女性 仲有全球各哋嘅女性 都唔係咩特殊例子 我哋唔係小數 而係大多數 我哋經常低估自己,亦被人輕視 作為女性 係時候要望高啲、遠啲 同投資多啲 令全世界嘅女性受益
We can make a difference, and make a difference, not just for women, but for a global economy that desperately needs their contributions. Together we can make certain that the so-called exceptions begin to rule. When we change the way we see ourselves, others will follow. And it is time for all of us to think bigger.
我哋有能力改變 而且咁樣做唔單止為女性 仲係為全球經濟 全球經濟極需要女性嘅貢獻 我哋一齊就會有能力 去令呢類所謂特殊例子變成主導 當我哋對自己嘅睇法有所改變 其他人都會跟隨 我哋係時候去諗得更遠大
Thank you very much.
多謝各位
(Applause)
(掌聲)