Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads?

Prevoditelj: Martina Juranic Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

When I wrote my memoir,

Kada sam napisala memoare,

the publishers were really confused.

izdavači su bili jako zbunjeni.

Was it about me as a child refugee,

Bave li se o meni kao djetetu izbjeglici

or as a woman who set up a high-tech software company back in the 1960s,

ili kao ženi koja je pokrenula softversku tvrtku davne 1960-te

one that went public

koja je postala javna tvrtka,

and eventually employed over 8,500 people?

te naposljetku zaposlila preko 8 500 ljudi?

Or was it as a mother of an autistic child?

Ili kao majci djeteta s autizmom?

Or as a philanthropist that's now given away serious money?

Ili kao filantropkinji koja sada dijeli velike svote novca?

Well, it turns out, I'm all of these.

Ispada da sam sve to.

So let me tell you my story.

Dopustite mi da vam ispričam svoju priču.

All that I am stems from when I got onto a train in Vienna,

Sve što jesam, proizlazi iz trenutka kada sam ušla u vlak u Beču,

part of the Kindertransport that saved nearly 10,000 Jewish children

tokom spasilačke misije "Kindertransport" koja je spasila oko 10 000 židovske djece

from Nazi Europe.

iz nacističke Europe.

I was five years old, clutching the hand of my nine-year-old sister

Imala sam pet godina i stišćući ruku moje devetogodišnje sestre

and had very little idea as to what was going on.

nisam bila svjesna što se točno događa.

"What is England and why am I going there?"

"Što je Engleska i zašto tamo idem?"

I'm only alive because so long ago, I was helped by generous strangers.

Živa sam jer su mi tada pomogli velikodušni stranci.

I was lucky, and doubly lucky to be later reunited

Imala sam sreću, dvostruku sreću, da sam kasnije ponovno spojena

with my birth parents.

sa svojim biološkim roditeljima.

But, sadly, I never bonded with them again.

Ali na žalost, nikad se više nisam s njima povezala.

But I've done more in the seven decades since that miserable day

Ipak, u sedam desetljeća od toga nesretnoga dana

when my mother put me on the train

kada me majka stavila na vlak,

than I would ever have dreamed possible.

napravila sam više nego što sam ikad mogla zamisliti.

And I love England, my adopted country,

I volim Englesku, moju posvojenu zemlju,

with a passion that perhaps only someone who has lost their human rights can feel.

sa žarom kojeg može osjećati samo netko kome su oduzeta ljudska prava.

I decided to make mine a life that was worth saving.

Odlučila sam da ću učiniti svoj život vrijedan spašavanja.

And then, I just got on with it.

I od onda samo to i činim.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Let me take you back to the early 1960s.

Dopustite mi da vas odvedem u rane 1960-te.

To get past the gender issues of the time,

Kako bih zaobišla problem tog vremena o neravnopravnosti spolova,

I set up my own software house at one of the first such startups in Britain.

pokrenula sam vlastitu softversku tvrtku, jednu od prvih te vrste u Britaniji.

But it was also a company of women, a company for women,

Bila je to tvrtka sačinjenja od žena, tvrtka za žene,

an early social business.

rani oblik socijalnog poduzeća.

And people laughed at the very idea because software, at that time,

Ljudi su se smijali toj ideji jer u to vrijeme

softver se dijelio besplatno u paketu s hardverom.

was given away free with hardware.

Nobody would buy software, certainly not from a woman.

Nitko ne bi kupio softver, pogotovo ne od žene.

Although women were then coming out of the universities with decent degrees,

Iako su žene završavale fakultete s diplomama

there was a glass ceiling to our progress.

postojala je nepremostiva barijera u našem napretku.

And I'd hit that glass ceiling too often,

I ja sam udarala o taj zid prečesto,

and I wanted opportunities for women.

i htjela sam prilike za žene.

I recruited professionally qualified women who'd left the industry on marriage,

Zaposlila sam kvalificirane žene koje su napustile posao nakon udaje,

or when their first child was expected

ili kada su ostale trudne

and structured them into a home-working organization.

i organizirala ih u udruženje koje radi od doma.

We pioneered the concept of women going back into the workforce

Bile smo pioniri koncepta povratka žena na posao

after a career break.

nakon pauze u karijeri.

We pioneered all sorts of new, flexible work methods:

Bile smo pioniri u svim vrstama novih i fleksibilnih metoda rada:

job shares, profit-sharing, and eventually, co-ownership

podijeli poslova, podijeli zarade i konačno, suvlasništvu

when I took a quarter of the company into the hands of the staff

kada sam četvrtinu tvrtke dala u ruke zaposlenika

at no cost to anyone but me.

na ničiji trošak, osim mog.

For years, I was the first woman this, or the only woman that.

Godinama sam bila prva žena u ovome ili jedina žena u onome.

And in those days, I couldn't work on the stock exchange,

U to vrijeme nisam mogla raditi na burzi,

I couldn't drive a bus or fly an airplane.

nisam mogla voziti autobus ili avion.

Indeed, I couldn't open a bank account without my husband's permission.

Nisam mogla niti otvoriti račun u banci bez dopuštenja mog supruga.

My generation of women fought the battles for the right to work

Moja generacija žena se borila za pravo rada

and the right for equal pay.

i jednakost plaća.

Nobody really expected much from people at work or in society

Nitko zapravo nije očekivao išta od ljudi na poslu ili u društvu

because all the expectations then

jer su sva očekivanja tada

were about home and family responsibilities.

bila usmjerena na dom i obiteljske obaveze.

And I couldn't really face that,

Ja to nisam mogla prihvatiti

so I started to challenge the conventions of the time,

i zato sam počela izazivati norme tog vremena

even to the extent of changing my name from "Stephanie" to "Steve"

do te mjere da sam mijenjala svoje ime iz Stephanie u Steve

in my business development letters,

u pismima poslovnog plana

so as to get through the door before anyone realized

kako bi prošla kroz vrata prije nego li bi itko shvatio

that he was a she.

da je on ustvari ona.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

My company, called Freelance Programmers, and that's precisely what it was,

Moja tvrtka, koja se zvala Honorarni Programeri, a upravo je to i bila,

couldn't have started smaller: on the dining room table,

nije mogla početi kao manja: na stolu blagovaone,

and financed by the equivalent of 100 dollars in today's terms,

i bila je financirana ekvivalentom današnjih 100 dolara,

and financed by my labor and by borrowing against the house.

financirana mojim radom i zajmom na moju kuću.

My interests were scientific, the market was commercial --

Moj interes je bio znanstveni, a tržište komercijalno.

things such as payroll, which I found rather boring.

Stvari poput platnih lista meni su bile dosadne.

So I had to compromise with operational research work,

Zato sam trebala naći kompromis između razvojnog-operativnog posla,

which had the intellectual challenge that interested me

koji mi je predstavljao intelektualni izazov i zanimao me,

and the commercial value that was valued by the clients:

i komercijalne vrijednosti koju su cijenili klijenti,

things like scheduling freight trains,

što su bile stvari poput izrade rasporeda teretnih vlakova,

time-tabling buses, stock control, lots and lots of stock control.

voznog reda autobusa, nadzor zaliha, mnogo, mnogo nadzora zaliha.

And eventually, the work came in.

I naposljetku, posao je uslijedio.

We disguised the domestic and part-time nature of the staff

Prikrili smo zaposlene koji rade od doma i one na pola radnog vremena tako

by offering fixed prices, one of the very first to do so.

što smo ponudili fiksne cijene. Bili smo jedni od prvih koji su to učinili.

And who would have guessed that the programming

I tko bi pogodio da je programiranje

of the black box flight recorder of Supersonic Concord

crnih kutija nadzvučnog aviona Concorde

would have been done by a bunch of women working in their own homes.

napravila hrpetina žena koje su radile od doma?

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

All we used was a simple "trust the staff" approach

Sve što smo radili baziralo se na jednostavnom principu povjerenja

and a simple telephone.

i telefonu.

We even used to ask job applicants, "Do you have access to a telephone?"

Znale smo i pitati kandidate za radno mjesto: "Imate li pristup telefonu?"

An early project was to develop software standards

Rani projekt zasnivao se na razvoju softverskih standarda

on management control protocols.

za protokole kontrole upravljanja.

And software was and still is a maddeningly hard-to-control activity,

Softver je bio i još uvijek jest zastrašujuće izdržljiv,

so that was enormously valuable.

što je bilo od velike vrijednosti.

We used the standards ourselves,

I mi same smo koristili standarde

we were even paid to update them over the years,

i bile plaćene da ih ažuriramo tijekom godina,

and eventually, they were adopted by NATO.

te ih je na kraju usvojio i NATO.

Our programmers -- remember, only women,

Naši programeri -- sjetite se, samo žene,

including gay and transgender --

uključujući homoseksualce i transeksualce --

worked with pencil and paper to develop flowcharts

radili su sa olovkom i papirom kako bi nacrtali dijagrame koji su

defining each task to be done.

definirali svaki zadatak koji je trebalo napraviti.

And they then wrote code, usually machine code,

A onda bi napisali kod, obično kod za stroj,

sometimes binary code,

ponekad binarni kod,

which was then sent by mail to a data center

koji bi se tada slao poštom u centar podataka

to be punched onto paper tape or card

kako bi se zapisao na papirnatu traku ili karticu bušenjem

and then re-punched, in order to verify it.

i onda ponovno izbušio kako bi se provjerio.

All this, before it ever got near a computer.

Sve to, prije nego što bi došao i blizu kompjutera.

That was programming in the early 1960s.

To je bilo programiranje u ranim 1960-tima.

In 1975, 13 years from startup,

Godine 1973., 13 godina nakon početka,

equal opportunity legislation came in in Britain

donešen je zakon o ravnopravnosti spolova u Britaniji

and that made it illegal to have our pro-female policies.

zbog čega je pro-ženska politika zapošljavanja postala nelegalna.

And as an example of unintended consequences,

I kao primjer neželjenih okolnosti,

my female company had to let the men in.

moja ženska tvrtka bila je prisiljena primiti muškarce.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

When I started my company of women,

Kada sam započela svoju tvrtku za žene,

the men said, "How interesting, because it only works because it's small."

muškarci su govorili: "Kako zanimljivo, uspijevaju zato što su mala tvrtka."

And later, as it became sizable, they accepted, "Yes, it is sizable now,

Kasnije, kada je postala veća, prihvatili su: "Da, sada je veća,

but of no strategic interest."

ali bez strateškog interesa."

And later, when it was a company valued at over three billion dollars,

I kasnije, kada je tvrtka procijenjena na preko 3 milijarde dolara,

and I'd made 70 of the staff into millionaires,

i kada sam 70 zaposlenika učinila milijunašima,

they sort of said, "Well done, Steve!"

rekli su nešto tipa: "Dobro napravljeno Steve!"

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

(Pljesak)

(Applause)

You can always tell ambitious women by the shape of our heads:

Uspješnu ženu uvijek možete prepoznati po obliku glave:

They're flat on top for being patted patronizingly.

spljoštene na vrhu jer su bile potapšane podcjenjivački.

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Smijeh) (Pljesak)

And we have larger feet to stand away from the kitchen sink.

Imamo i veća stopala tako da stojimo što dalje od sudopera.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Let me share with you two secrets of success:

Podijelit ću s vama dvije tajne uspjeha:

Surround yourself with first-class people and people that you like;

okružite se sa vrhunskim ljudima i onima koji vam se sviđaju;

and choose your partner very, very carefully.

i izaberite svog partnera vrlo, vrlo, pažljivo.

Because the other day when I said, "My husband's an angel,"

Neki dan kad sam rekla da je moj suprug anđeo,

a woman complained -- "You're lucky," she said,

žena se požalila rekavši: "Ti si tako sretna.

"mine's still alive."

Moj je još uvijek živ."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

If success were easy, we'd all be millionaires.

Da uspjeh dolazi lako, svi bi bili milijunaši.

But in my case, it came in the midst of family trauma and indeed, crisis.

U mom slučaju došao je tijekom obiteljske traume i krize.

Our late son, Giles, was an only child, a beautiful, contented baby.

Naš pokojni sin Giles, jedinac, bio je divno, mirno dijete.

And then, at two and a half,

Kada je navršio dvije i pol godine,

like a changeling in a fairy story,

poput mjenjolika iz bajke,

he lost the little speech that he had

izgubio je i malo govora što je imao

and turned into a wild, unmanageable toddler.

i postao divlje, neobuzdano dijete.

Not the terrible twos;

Nije to bila dječja zloća,

he was profoundly autistic and he never spoke again.

već teži oblik autizma i više nikada nije progovorio.

Giles was the first resident in the first house of the first charity that I set up

Giles je bio prvi stanovnik u prvoj kući dobrotvorne ustanove koju sam pokrenula

to pioneer services for autism.

da pruži usluge za ljude s autizmom.

And then there's been a groundbreaking Prior's Court school

Uslijedile su alternativna škola "Prior's Court"

for pupils with autism

za đake s autizmom

and a medical research charity, again, all for autism.

i medicinsko istraživačka ustanova, također za autizam.

Because whenever I found a gap in services, I tried to help.

Uvijek kada sam našla rupu u usluzi, nastojala sam pomoći.

I like doing new things and making new things happen.

Volim raditi nove stvari i realizirati ih.

And I've just started a three-year think tank for autism.

Baš sam pokrenula trogodišnju neprofitnu istraživačku organizaciju za autizam.

And so that some of my wealth does go back to the industry from which it stems,

Tako se dio mog bogatstva vraća odakle je i došao.

I've also founded the Oxford Internet Institute

Također sam osnovala institut Oxford Internet

and other IT ventures.

i pokrenula druge IT pothvate.

The Oxford Internet Institute focuses not on the technology,

Institut Oxford Internet se ne fokusira na tehnologiju,

but on the social, economic, legal and ethical issues of the Internet.

već na socijalna, ekonomska, pravna i etička pitanja vezana za internet.

Giles died unexpectedly 17 years ago now.

Giles je nenadano umro prije 17 godina.

And I have learned to live without him,

Naučila sam živjeti bez njega,

and I have learned to live without his need of me.

i naučila sam živjeti bez njegove potrebe za mnom.

Philanthropy is all that I do now.

Sada se bavim samo filantropijom.

I need never worry about getting lost

Nikada se ne trebam bojati da ću se izgubiti

because several charities would quickly come and find me.

jer će neka od dobrotvornih ustanova brzo doći i naći me.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It's one thing to have an idea for an enterprise,

Jedna je stvar imati ideju za poduzeće,

but as many people in this room will know,

ali kao što mnogi u ovoj sobi znaju,

making it happen is a very difficult thing

ostvariti ju jer vrlo teška stvar.

and it demands extraordinary energy, self-belief and determination,

Zahtjeva ogromnu energiju, vjeru u sebe i odlučnost,

the courage to risk family and home,

hrabrost da se riskira obitelj i dom,

and a 24/7 commitment that borders on the obsessive.

predanost 24 sata/7 dana koja graniči sa opsesivnošću.

So it's just as well that I'm a workaholic.

Baš poput radoholičara.

I believe in the beauty of work when we do it properly and in humility.

Vjerujem u ljepotu posla kada je napravljen kako treba i u poniznosti.

Work is not just something I do when I'd rather be doing something else.

Posao nije nešto što se radi kada bi najradije radio nešto drugo.

We live our lives forward.

Živimo ovaj život gledajući naprijed.

So what has all that taught me?

I čemu me je to sve naučilo?

I learned that tomorrow's never going to be like today,

Naučila sam da sutra nikada nije kao danas,

and certainly nothing like yesterday.

i nikako kao jučer.

And that made me able to cope with change,

I to mi je omogućilo da se nosim s promjenama,

indeed, eventually to welcome change,

i da naposljetku prihvatim promjene

though I'm told I'm still very difficult.

iako mi je rečeno da je još uvijek sa mnom teško.

Thank you very much.

Puno vam hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)