有人对我说,你太漂亮了,不可能是首席执行官

"Did you wear that pencil skirt just for me?" asked the male investor, his eyes travelling up and down my body. A sick feeling washed over me. I had waited six months for this meeting, and was there to discuss a potentially career-changing investment. I said nothing, my face a total blank. Although I had prepared for every possible outcome, good and bad, I never thought I'd face a moral dilemma during a professional meeting. Walking away from the quarter million dollars I so desperately needed to launch my business, I felt lost. What just happened? Was this my fault?

"你是为了我才穿铅笔裙的吗？"一位男性投资商一边上下打量我的身体一边问道。我感到一阵恶心。我等了6个月才等来这场会议，原本打算商讨一项可能转变职业的投资。我什么都没说，面无表情。虽然我已做好各种可能性结果（有好有坏）的准备，但我从未想过在职业会议上竟然会面临一道道德难题。放手开展业务急需的25万美元后，我感到十分迷茫。刚刚发生了什么？难道是我的过错？

When I decided to quit my 9- to- 5 job and launch a media platform for today's generation of female entrepreneurs, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't realise my physical appearance would be the point of focus for so many prospective male partners.

当我下定决心辞掉朝九晚五的工作，为当今女企业家推出一款媒体平台时，我知道过程肯定不易，但我并没有意识到我的身体会成为很多潜在男性合作伙伴关注的焦点。

I'll never understand why women who embrace style are categorised as non-business-minded. Male executives in Armani suits and sleek Italian loafers are seen as powerful, in-demand leaders who will undoubtedly grace the covers of a variety of glossy business publications in various power poses. Female leaders, on the other hand, are instead asked by reporters to share their beauty secrets, fashion choices and how they balance work and parenthood. The underlying perception is that women can only exist as an either or, while men can have it all. A message to men: just because she's wearing a pair of hot pink pair of stilettos doesn't mean she didn't just close a multi-million dollar deal.

我一直都不理解，为什么时尚的女性就被人们归类到没有商业头脑一类呢？人们认为阿玛尼西装和时尚的意大利乐福鞋的男性高管是权利很大、很受欢迎的领导，毫无疑问，他们会摆出各种强有力的姿势出现在各类商业杂志的封面上。另一方面，采访人会询问女性领导人的美容秘诀、时尚选择，以及如何平衡工作和家庭。而这种现象的潜在看法就是：女人只能存在，而男人可以拥有一切。给男人的留言：只是因为她穿了一双粉色细高跟鞋，并不意味着她不能达成一项几百万的交易。

Women are constantly being labelled as 'the girl next door,' 'the boring and/or bitchy executive,' 'the sexy model,' or the 'entitled millennial.' Women in business face an amplified dose of judgement. Power relationships in the dynamics of deal-making highlight our vulnerability, because although women represent a quickly multiplying segment of the startup founders community, we are still beholden to the male-dominated world of investors and venture capitalists (only seven percent of the top VC firms are owned by women).

女人总是被贴上"邻家女孩""无聊女上司/女魔头""性感的模特"或"千禧姑娘"的标签。商业女性需要面对大量的评头品足。谈交易时的权利关系强调了我们的脆弱，因为尽管女性代表着创业圈快速成长的一部分，但我们仍旧处于男性投资商和风险投资家主导的世界中（在顶层风险投资公司中，只有7%的公司由女老板经营）。