Women, especially those at junior levels, 职场女性，尤其是那些资历尚浅的女性，

worry that raising gender issues makes them appear unprofessional or as if they are blaming others. 都担心提出男女平等的问题会让自己看起来很不专业，或是在谴责别人。

I have listened to women vent frustration over being undervalued and even demeaned on a daily basis at work. 我见过有女性沮丧地抱怨自己在工作中不受重视或被轻视。

When I ask if they have aired any of these complaints to their superiors, they've responded, "Oh no! I couldn't." 当我问她们是否跟上司聊过这些问题时，她们几乎都会说：“没有！我做不到！”

There is so much fear that speaking up will make the situation worse or even result in being penalized or fired. 她们太恐惧，害怕一旦说出来会让情况变得更糟，导致被处罚甚至被解雇。

It seems safer to bear the injustice. 相比之下，忍受不公平似乎更安全。

For men, raising this subject can be even harder. 要让男人主动提起这个问题则会更难。

A male friend who runs a large organization once confided in me, 一位男性企业高管曾私下告诉我：

"It's easier to talk about your sex life in public than to talk about gender." “公开地讨论性生活比提及性别问题要容易。”

The fact that he wouldn't go on record with this quote shows he meant it. 他没有公开讲过这个观点，但他的确是这么想的。

Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone, told me that he showed my TEDTalk to his senior management team 沃达丰电讯公司的首席执行官维托里奥·科劳告诉我，他把我的TED演讲视频拿给他的高管团队看了。

because he shares my belief that women sometimes hold themselves back. 他相信，有时候女性是自己选择往后退的；

He also believed this message was easier to hear from a woman than a man. 他也相信，让女性自己说出来比等着男性提出来更容易。

His point is valid. 他是有道理的。

If a man had delivered the same message or even gently pointed out that women might be taking actions that limited their options, he would have been pilloried. 如果由一位男性来说这个问题，甚至只是善意地说：“女性或许是自己在限制自己的选择”，那他完全是自找罪受。

Shutting down discussion is self-defeating and impedes progress. 闭口不谈这个问题肯定会适得其反，阻碍自我发展。

We need to talk and listen and debate and refute and instruct and learn and evolve. 我们需要交谈、倾听、争论、反驳、指导、学习和进步。