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This tennis icon paved the way for women in sports

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    Billie Jean King: Hi, everyone!
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    (Applause)
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    Thanks, Pat.
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    Thank you!
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    Getting me all wound up, now!
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    (Laughter)
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    Pat Mitchell: Good!
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    You know, when I was watching
    the video again of the match,
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    you must have felt like
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    the fate of the world's women
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    was on every stroke you took on that.
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    Were you feeling that?
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    BJK: First of all, Bobby Riggs --
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    he was the former number one player,
    he wasn't just some hacker, by the way --
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    he was one of my heroes and I admired him.
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    And that's the reason I beat him,
    actually, it's because I respected him.
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    (Laughter)
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    It's true, my mom and dad, always said:
    "Respect your opponent,
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    and never underestimate them, ever."
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    And he was correct --
    he was absolutely correct.
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    But I knew it was about social change,
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    and I was really nervous about
    whenever we announced it,
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    and I felt like the whole world
    was on my shoulders.
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    And I thought, "If I lose, it's going
    to put women back 50 years, at least."
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    Title IX had just been passed
    the year before -- June 23, 1972,
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    and women's professional tennis --
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    there were nine of us who signed
    a one-dollar contract in 1970 --
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    now remember the match is in '73.
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    So we were only in our
    third year of having a tour
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    where we could actually play, have a place
    to compete and make a living.
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    So there were nine of us that signed
    that one-dollar contract.
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    And our dream was for any girl,
    born any place in the world --
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    if she was good enough --
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    there would be a place for her to compete
    and for us to make a living.
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    Because before 1968,
    we made 14 dollars a day,
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    and we were under
    the control of organizations.
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    So we really wanted
    to break away from that.
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    But we knew it wasn't really about
    our generation so much,
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    we knew it was about
    the future generations.
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    We do stand on the shoulders of the people
    that came before us, there is no question.
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    But every generation
    has the chance to make it better.
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    That was really on my mind.
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    I really wanted to start matching the
    hearts and minds to Title IX.
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    Title IX, in case anybody doesn't know --
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    which a lot of people don't
    probably know --
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    any federal funds given to
    a high school, college or university,
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    either public or private,
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    had to finally give equal monies
    to boys and girls.
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    And that changed everything.
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    (Applause)
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    So you can have a law,
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    but it's changing the hearts
    and minds to match up with it.
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    That's when it really rocks, totally.
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    So that was on my mind.
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    I wanted to start that change
    in the hearts and minds.
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    But two things came out of that match.
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    For women: self-confidence, empowerment.
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    They actually had enough nerve
    to ask for a raise.
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    Some women have waited 10,
    15 years to ask,
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    I said, "More importantly,
    did you get it?"
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    (Laughter)
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    And they did!
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    And for the men:
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    a lot of the men today don't realize it,
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    but if you're in your 50s, 60s
    or whatever, late 40s,
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    you're the first generation of men
    of the Women's Movement --
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    whether you like it or not!
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    (Laughter)
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    (Applause)
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    And for the men,
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    what happened for the men,
    they'd come up to me --
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    and most times, the men are the ones
    who have tears in their eyes,
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    it's very interesting.
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    They go, "Billie, I was very young
    when I saw that match,
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    and now I have a daughter,
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    and I'm so happy I saw that
    as a young man."
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    And one of those young men,
    at 12 years old, was President Obama,
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    and he actually told me that
    when I met him, he said:
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    "You don't realize it,
    but I saw that match at 12,
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    and now I have two daughters and it has
    made a difference in how I raise them."
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    So both men and women got a lot
    out of it but, different things.
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    PM: And now there are generations --
    at least one or two --
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    who have experienced the equality
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    that Title IX and other fights
    along the way made possible.
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    And for women, there are generations
    who have also experienced teamwork.
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    They got to play team sports
    in a way they hadn't before.
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    So you had a legacy already built
    in terms of being an athlete,
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    a legacy of the work you did to lobby
    for equal pay for women athletes
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    and the Women's Sports Foundation.
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    What now are you looking to accomplish
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    with The Billie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative?
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    BJK: I think it goes back
    to an epiphany I had at 12.
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    At 11, I wanted to be the number one
    tennis player in the world,
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    and a friend had asked me to play
    and I said, "What's that?" --
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    tennis was not in my family --
    basketball was, other sports.
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    Fast forward to 12 years old,
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    (Laughter)
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    I'm finally starting to play in
    tournaments where you get a ranking --
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    you know, at the end of the year.
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    So I was daydreaming
    at the Los Angeles Tennis Club,
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    and I started thinking about my sport
    and how tiny it was, but also
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    that everybody who played
    wore white shoes, white clothes,
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    played with white balls --
    everybody who played was white.
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    And I said to myself, at 12 years old,
    "Where is everyone else?"
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    And that just kept sticking in my brain.
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    And that moment
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    I promised myself I'd fight
    for equal rights and opportunities
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    for boys and girls, men and women,
    the rest of my life.
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    And that tennis, if I was fortunate
    enough to become number one --
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    and I knew, being a girl,
    it would be harder to have influence,
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    already at that age --
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    that I had this platform.
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    And tennis is global.
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    And I thought, "You know what?
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    I've been given an opportunity
    that very few people have had."
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    Now, I didn't know if I was going
    to make it, this was only 12.
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    I sure wanted it --
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    but making it's a whole other discussion.
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    I just remember I promised myself,
    and I really try to keep my word.
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    That's who I truly am,
    just fighting for people.
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    And, unfortunately, women have had less,
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    and we are considered less.
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    And so my attentions,
    where did they have to go?
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    It was just ... you have to --
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    And also learn to stick up for yourself,
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    hear your own voice.
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    You hear the same words keep
    coming out all the time,
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    and I got really lucky because
    I really had an education.
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    And I think if you can
    see it you can be it,
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    you know -- if you can see it,
    you can be it.
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    You look at Pat,
    you look at other leaders,
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    you look at these speakers,
    look at yourself,
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    because everyone --
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    everyone --
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    can do something extraordinary.
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    Every single person.
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    PM: And your story, Billie,
    has inspired so many women everywhere.
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    Now with the Billie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative,
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    you're taking on an even bigger cause.
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    Because one thing we hear a lot about
    is women taking their voice,
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    working to find their way into
    leadership positions.
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    But what you're talking about
    is even bigger than that.
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    It's inclusive leadership.
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    And this is a generation that has grown up
    thinking more inclusively --
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    BJK: Isn't it great?
    Look at the technology!
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    It's amazing how it connects us all!
    It's about connection.
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    It's simply amazing
    what's possible because of it.
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    But the Billie Jean King
    Leadership Initiative
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    is really about the workforce mostly,
    and trying to change it,
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    so people can actually go to work
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    and be their authentic selves.
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    Because most of us have two jobs.
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    One, to fit in --
    I'll give you a perfect example --
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    an African American woman
    gets up an hour earlier to go to work,
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    straightens her hair in the bathroom,
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    goes to the bathroom probably
    four, five, six times a day
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    to keep straightening her hair,
    to keep making sure she fits in.
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    So she's working two jobs.
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    She's got this other job,
    whatever that may be,
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    but she's also trying to fit in.
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    Or this poor man who kept his diploma --
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    he went to University of Michigan --
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    but he never would talk about
    his poverty as a youngster, ever,
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    just would not mention it.
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    So he made sure they saw
    he was well educated.
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    And then you see a gay guy
    who has an NFL --
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    which means American football
    for all of you out there,
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    it's a big deal, it's very macho --
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    and he talked about football all the time
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    because he was gay and
    he didn't want anybody to know.
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    So it just goes on and on.
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    So my wish for everyone is to be able
    to be their authentic selves 24/7,
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    that would be the ultimate.
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    And we catch ourselves, I mean,
    I catch myself to this day.
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    Even being gay I catch myself,
    you know, like,
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    (Gasp)
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    A little uncomfortable,
    a little surge in my gut,
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    feeling not totally
    comfortable in my own skin.
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    So, I think you have to ask yourself --
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    I want people to be themselves,
    whatever that is, just let it be.
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    PM: And the first research that the
    Leadership Initiative did showed that --
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    these examples that you just used --
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    that many of us have the problem
    of being authentic.
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    But what you've just looked at
    is this millennial generation,
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    who have benefited from all these
    equal opportunities --
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    which may not be equal
    but exist everywhere --
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    BJK: First of all, I'm really lucky.
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    Partnership with Teneo,
    a strategic company that's amazing.
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    That's really the reason
    I'm able to do this.
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    I've had two times in my life
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    where I've actually had men
    really behind me with power.
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    And that was with the old days with
    Philip Morris with Virginia Slims,
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    and this is the second time
    in my entire life.
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    And then Deloitte --
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    the one thing I wanted was data, facts --
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    so Deloitte sent out a survey,
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    and we're around over 4,000 now,
    people who have answered,
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    and we're continuing in the workplace.
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    And what they feel,
    what the millennials feel?
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    Well, they feel a lot, but what
    they're so fantastic about is --
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    you know, our generation was like,
    "Oh, we're going to get representation."
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    So if you walk into a room you see
    everybody represented.
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    That's not good enough anymore,
    which is so good!
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    So the millennials are fantastic --
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    they want connection, engagement.
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    They just want you to tell us what
    you're feeling, what you're thinking,
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    and get into the solution --
    they're problem solvers --
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    and of course, you've got
    the information at your fingertips
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    compared to when I was growing up.
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    PM: What did the research show
    you about millennials?
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    Are they going to make a difference?
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    Are they going to create a world where
    there is really an inclusive work force?
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    BJK: Well, in 2025, 75 percent
    of the global workforce
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    is going to be millennials.
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    So I think they are going
    to help solve problems.
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    I think they have
    the wherewithal to do it.
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    I know they care a lot.
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    They have big ideas and they
    can make big things happen.
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    I want to stay in the now
    with the young people,
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    I don't want to get behind.
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    (Laughter)
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    PM: I don't think there's any chance!
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    PM: But what you found out
    in the research about millennials
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    is not really the experience that a lot
    of people have with millennials.
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    BJK: No, well, if we want to talk --
    OK, I've been doing my little mini survey.
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    I've been talking to the Boomers,
    who are their bosses, and I go,
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    "What do you think about the millennials?
    I'm pretty excited!"
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    Like, it's good.
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    And they get this face --
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    (Laughter)
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    "Oh, you mean the 'Me Generation'?"
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    (Laughter)
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    And I say, "Do you really think so?
    I do think they care about environment
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    and all these things."
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    And they go, "Oh, Billie,
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    they cannot focus."
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    (Laughter)
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    They actually have proven that the average
    focus for an 18 year old is 37 seconds.
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    (Laughter)
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    They can't focus.
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    And they don't really care.
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    I just heard a story the other night:
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    she owns a gallery
    and she has these workers,
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    she gets a text from one of the workers --
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    she's like an intern, she's
    just starting -- she goes,
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    "Oh, by the way, I'm going to be late
    because I'm at the hairdresser's."
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    (Laughter)
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    So she arrives, and this boss says,
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    "What's going on?"
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    And she says, "Oh, I was late,
    sorry, how's it going?"
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    She says, "Well, guess what?
    I'd like you leave, you're finished."
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    She goes, "OK".
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    (Laughter)
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    "No problem!"
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    I know, but that's what
    scares the boomers --
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    I'm just telling you --
    so I think it's good for us to share.
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    (Laughter)
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    No, it is good for us to share
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    because we're our authentic self
    and what we're really feeling
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    and we've got to take it
    both ways, you know?
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    But I have great faith because --
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    if you've been in sports like I have --
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    every generation gets better.
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    It's a fact.
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    With the Women's Sports Foundation
    being the advocates for Title IX still,
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    because we're trying to keep protecting
    the law because it's always --
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    it's in a tenuous position always --
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    so we really are concerned,
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    and we do a lot of research.
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    That's very important to us.
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    And I want to hear from people.
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    But we really have to protect what
    Title IX stands for worldwide.
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    And you heard President Carter
    talk about how Title IX is protected.
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    And do you know that every single lawsuit
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    that girls, at least in sports,
    have gone up against --
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    whatever institutions --
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    has won?
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    Title IX is there to protect us.
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    And it is amazing.
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    But we still have to get
    the hearts and minds --
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    the hearts and minds
    to match the legislation is huge.
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    PM: So what gets you up every morning?
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    What keeps you sustaining your work,
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    sustaining the fight
    for equality, extending it,
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    always exploring new areas,
    trying to find new ways ... ?
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    BJK: Well, I always drove my parents crazy
    because I was always the curious one.
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    I'm highly motivated.
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    My younger brother was
    a Major League Baseball player.
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    My poor parents did not care
    if we were any good,
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    (Laughter)
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    And we just, we drove them crazy
    because we pushed,
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    we pushed because
    we wanted to be the best.
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    And, I really --
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    I think it's because of what I'm hearing
    today at TED Talks,
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    I think to listen to
    these different women,
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    to listen to different people,
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    to listen to President Carter.
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    He's 90 years old, by the way,
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    and he we was throwing these figures
    out that I would never --
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    I'd have to go,
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    "Excuse me, wait a minute, I need
    to get a list out of these figures."
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    He was rattling off --
    I mean, that's amazing, I'm sorry.
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    PM: He's an amazing man.
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    (Applause)
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    BJK: And then you're going to have
    President Mary Robinson,
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    who's a former president --
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    Thank you, Irish! 62 percent! LGBTQ! Yes!
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    (Applause)
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    Congress is voting in June
    on same-sex marriage,
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    so these are things that for some
    people are very hard to hear.
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    But always remember,
    every one of us is an individual,
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    a human being with
    a beating heart, who cares
  • 15:07 - 15:09
    and wants to live their authentic life.
  • 15:10 - 15:14
    OK? You don't have to agree with somebody,
    but everyone has the opportunity.
  • 15:16 - 15:19
    I think we all have an obligation
  • 15:19 - 15:24
    to continue to keep moving
    the needle forward, always.
  • 15:24 - 15:26
    And these people have been so inspiring.
  • 15:27 - 15:28
    Everyone matters.
  • 15:28 - 15:30
    And every one of you is an influencer.
  • 15:30 - 15:33
    You out there listening, out there
    in the world -- plus the people here --
  • 15:33 - 15:35
    every single person's an influencer.
  • 15:35 - 15:38
    Never, ever forget that. OK?
  • 15:38 - 15:40
    So don't ever give up on yourself.
  • 15:41 - 15:43
    PM: Billie, you have been
    an inspiration for us.
  • 15:43 - 15:44
    BJK: Thanks, Pat!
  • 15:44 - 15:48
    (Applause)
  • 15:48 - 15:49
    Thanks, TED!
  • 15:49 - 15:51
    (Applause)
  • 15:51 - 15:52
    Thanks a lot!
Title:
This tennis icon paved the way for women in sports
Speaker:
Billie Jean King
Description:

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Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TEDTalks
Duration:
16:05

English subtitles

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