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.
我們不投資受害者 我們投資存活下來的人 不論事件是大或小 受害者的敘述 塑造了我們看待女性的方式 你不能指望你看不見的東西 我們也不投資我們看不見的事物 但這才是 韌性的樣貌
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 我開始書寫關於在衝突爆發個過程中或衝突發生之後 女性創業者的故事 我開始寫一則令人注目的經濟故事 故事有著偉大的角色,但沒有被人談論過 是我覺得重要的故事 那原來是女性的故事
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.
我離開了ABC新聞台,離開了我三十歲時喜歡的職業 為了讀商學院 這條我幾乎不了解的路 在馬里蘭州,我沒有認識任何一位女性 是從大學畢業的 更別說要去念商學院 但是他們忙於照顧他們的孩子 和支付房租 我年輕時就看到 有一份好工作和良好的生活 對那些掙扎著生活的家庭來說 是有很大的不同
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.
如果各位要談論工作 那麼就要談談那些創業者 如果要談論那些 在衝突中或衝突環境下的創業者 那一定要談談女性 因為他們是我們遺忘的族群 盧安達在經歷過大屠殺後 有77%的人口是女性 我想跟各位介紹 一些我見過的創業者 並跟各位分享這些年來他們教導我的事
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年時我去了阿富汗 為金融時報工作 在那裡我遇見了Kamila 她是位年輕女性 她告訴我她剛拒絕的一個在國際組織工作的機會 這份工作可以給她每個月兩千元的薪水 這對她來說是個天文數字 但她說,她拒絕了這個機會 因為她要開始經營她另一項事業 是創業顧問 要指導阿富汗的男性和女性 商業技能 她說商業 是影響她國家未來的關鍵 因為在這一波國際關注離開之後 商業活動能為她的國家 帶來安全和和平 她也說了,商業活動對女性更是重要 因為賺取收入能獲得尊重 金錢對女性來說是種力量
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."
我對此感到驚奇 那是一個從未在和平的時間生活過的女性 卻怎麼的聽起來像是實境電視《誰是接班人》中的參賽者 (笑聲) 所以我問她「妳是如何如此了解商業活動的? 你為什麼對此如此熱情?」 她說「喔,Gayle,這其實是我第三項事業了 我第一份生意是訂製衣服的生意 我在塔利班政權統治下開始做的 事實上生意挺好的 因為我們提供了附近的婦女們工作機會 那也是我成為創業家的真正原因」
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.
各位想想 在這裡,女孩們冒著危險 成為家庭的經濟支柱 在那些她們甚至無法走上街頭的年代 在經濟崩盤的時間 當人們出售嬰兒玩偶和鞋帶 還有出售門窗 為了生存的時候 這些女孩們 在生存和飢餓之間 做了許多改變 我無法停止寫這個故事,也無法拋開這個題目 因為我不管走到哪,我遇見更多這樣的女性 她們看似無人認識 也沒有人想認識
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.
我去波斯尼亞 在我的採訪初期,我會見了國際貨幣基金組織官員 他告訴我「Gayle,你知道嗎 事實上我不認為在波斯尼亞有女性從事商業活動 但這裡有位小姐在附近販售起司 就在路旁 所以也許你可以訪問她」 所以我外出採訪 不到一天,我遇見了Narcisa Kavazovic 她在當時開了一間新工廠 就在薩拉熱窩戰爭的前線之前 她就在一個 廢棄的車庫裡開始了她的生意 縫製床單和枕頭套 她會到城裡每一個市場去販售 如此她才得以 支持12至13為家庭成員的生活 他們都仰賴她生活 在我們見面時,她擁有20名員工 大部分都是女性 她們送她們的兒子女兒們到學校 她只是一個開始 我遇過女性經營重要的石油生意 酒廠 甚至是國內最大的廣告公司
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."
這些故事綜合在一起 成為先驅論壇報的商業新聞頭版 當這則故事被報導出來 我奔向我的電腦,立刻寄給了國際貨幣基金總部 說「以防萬一,你們要找創業者 作為貴單位下一場投資論壇的主題時, 這裡有很多女性。」
(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.
但是各位想想 國際貨幣基金的這位代表,並非唯一一個 會自動地對女性如此藐視的人 偏見,不論是有意還無心 都是普遍的 更別說是誤導的心理印象 如果你看到「小額信貸」這個詞 各位心裡會想到什麼? 大部分的人會說女性 但如果各位看到「創業家」這個詞呢? 大部分的人會想到男性 為什麼會如此? 因為我們想到女性的時候 目標不高也不遠大
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.
小額信貸是種不可思議的有力工具 這能帶來自給自足和自我尊重 但我們必須讓女性超越那些微小的希望 和那些微小的企圖心 因為她們給了自己更大的希望 她們想從圍小提升到中階甚至是更高的位置 在許多地方 她們的確在那些高階位子上 在美國,女性掌管的商業活動 到2018年將創造550萬新的就業機會 在南韓和印尼 婦女擁有近五十萬家公司 在中國,女性主導了 百分二十的小型企業 在全世界的開發中國家 數據更達百分之四十至五十
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.
幾乎我所到過的地方 我遇見了非常有趣的創業家 正在尋求獲得資金,進入市場 建立起商業活動的網絡 她們常被忽視 因為她們難以被幫助 要給予五萬美元的貸款 遠比給予五百美金的貸款風險要高 如同世界銀行最近指出 婦女被困在生產力的陷阱裡 那些小型企業 無法獲取他們所需的擴展資金 那些微型企業 無法成長
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.
最近我在華盛頓國務院 我遇到了一位來自加納極盡熱情的創業家 她是賣巧克力的 她來到華盛頓 不是來尋求施捨也不是來尋求小額貸款 她是來尋找強力的投資資金 讓她能建立工廠 購買她所需的設備 來出口她的巧克力 到非洲、歐洲和中東地區 甚至是更遠的地方 資金也能幫助她 再雇用多一點的員工 她現在已經有超過二十名員工為她工作 資金也能幫助她自己的國家 有大幅的經濟成長
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.
好消息是 我們知道確實是如此 理論和經驗證據 告訴我們 我們不需要發明解決方案 因為我們有現金流貸款 那是根據收入而非資產做抵押 貸款使用安全合約而非抵押契約 因為女性通常沒有擁有土地 Kiva.org,一間微型放款公司 其實正在實驗眾包 一些中小型的貸款的計劃 而這只是個開端
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.
近來流行稱呼女性 新興市場中的新興市場 我認為這太讚了 各位知道為什麼嗎? 因為 - 而我我以一個曾在金融圈打滾的身分這樣說 - 在過去十年裡新興市場中 至少有五百億美元注入 因為投資者看到了潛在的利潤 在經濟成長緩慢的時期 他們針對了新興市場 創造了金融性商品 和金融創新
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.
如果我們用我們的荷包 投資五兆美元 來取代那些高尚稱讚的話語 幫助啟動女性的經濟潛力 這個世界將是多麼美好 想想那些優點 那些帶來的工作機會,生產力 職業,兒童保健 產婦死亡率、識字率 還有很多很多 因為如同世界經濟論壇指出 性別差距越小 越能提高經濟競爭力 沒有一個國家 已經填補兩性參與商業活動上的差距 一個都沒有
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.
所以好消息是 這就是一個大好機會 我們有相當多的成長空間 所以 這不是只為做好事 這是為了全球的發展 和就業市場 這是關於我們如何投資 如何看待女性 女性已經不只是 世界上一半的人口 小眾利益族群而已
(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?
我經常都和同行討論 他們對我說「Gayle,這些故事真棒 但你都寫的是一些例外。」 那讓我停下來,基於幾個原因 首先,所謂的例外 有好多 而且都是重要的 第二,當我們談論那些成功的男人 我們直接將他們 視為指標、先驅、發明者 要仿效的對象 但當我們談論女性時 就把他們當作是例外 或是被忽略的奇人 最後 這個世界上沒有任何一個國家 沒有被那些 最傑出的人事務所改變 我們為何就不替這些 創造就業的人鼓掌抬轎 反而要忽略她們呢?
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."
韌性這對我來說是非常切身的主題 它從很多方面塑造了我的生活 我母親是一位單親媽媽 她白天在電話公司工作 晚上在賣廚具用品 因此我有各種可能的機會 我們會盡量使用折價卷買東西 或用分期付款或買二手貨 當我母親罹患乳癌末期時 再也無法工作 我們甚至申請了食物卷 當時我大概九,十歲 我覺得自己好可憐 媽媽會對我說「乖女兒,跟世界上 其他悲慘故事相比,你的算什麼呢?」
(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."
當我準備申請商學院 我覺得自己辦不到 沒有任何一個我認識的人這樣做過 我去找我的阿姨,她被她的丈夫家暴多年 最後只帶著尊嚴 離開了這段暴力的婚姻 她告訴了我 「不要套用了其他人的限制在自己身上」
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."
當我跟我的祖母抱怨 她經歷過二戰 她在電影工業工作了五十年 從十三歲就開始資助我 我當時害怕 如果我拒絕了ABC給我的優質工作 只為了一個海外的獎學金 我可能永遠永遠都找不到其他工作 她告訴我「孩子,我要告訴你兩件事: 第一、沒有人會拒絕Fulbright的獎學金 第二、麥當勞永遠都在徵人。」 (笑聲) 「你會找到工作的,飛吧。」
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.
我的家庭裡的女性 並不是例外 在座所有女性和在L.A.收看節目的女性們 和全世界其他的女性們 都不是例外 我們不是小眾利益的族群 我們是大多數的人 有太長久的時間 我們都低估了自己 或是被其他人給低估了 現在我們該把目標拉高 當談論到女性 我們該投資更多,讓我們的錢變大 幫助全世界所有的女性
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.
我們能改變 改變,不只是為了女性 而是為了全球的經濟 經濟迫切需要她們的貢獻 大家一起,我們能使 某些所謂的例外 變成一種慣例 當我們改變我們看待自己的方式 其他的人會跟隨我們 現在對我們大家而言 正是往大方向思考的時候
Thank you very much.
非常謝謝各位
(Applause)
(掌聲)