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