1
00:00:00,863 --> 00:00:03,852
I am so excited to be here.

2
00:00:03,876 --> 00:00:06,680
Everything in America
is so much bigger than in Europe.

3
00:00:06,704 --> 00:00:08,676
Look at me -- I am huge!

4
00:00:08,700 --> 00:00:10,361
(Laughter)

5
00:00:10,385 --> 00:00:11,535
It's fantastic!

6
00:00:11,559 --> 00:00:14,839
And TED Talks -- TED Talks
are where everybody has great ideas.

7
00:00:14,863 --> 00:00:18,260
So the question is: Where do
those great ideas come from?

8
00:00:18,284 --> 00:00:20,630
Well, it's a little bit of debate,

9
00:00:20,654 --> 00:00:23,192
but it's generally reckoned
that the average person --

10
00:00:23,216 --> 00:00:24,374
that's me --

11
00:00:24,398 --> 00:00:26,932
has about 50,000 thoughts a day.

12
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Which is a lot,

13
00:00:28,138 --> 00:00:30,964
until you realize that 95 percent of them

14
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are the same ones you had the day before.

15
00:00:33,639 --> 00:00:35,842
(Laughter)

16
00:00:36,647 --> 00:00:39,255
And a lot of mine are really boring, OK?

17
00:00:39,279 --> 00:00:40,484
I think things like,

18
00:00:40,508 --> 00:00:43,593
"Oh! I know -- I must clean the floor.

19
00:00:43,617 --> 00:00:45,349
Oh! I forgot to walk the dog."

20
00:00:45,373 --> 00:00:46,655
My most popular:

21
00:00:46,679 --> 00:00:48,585
"Don't eat that cookie."

22
00:00:48,609 --> 00:00:50,167
(Laughter)

23
00:00:50,792 --> 00:00:53,928
So, 95 percent repetition.

24
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That leaves us with just a five percent
window of opportunity each day

25
00:00:58,908 --> 00:01:01,857
to actually think something new.

26
00:01:02,731 --> 00:01:04,673
And some of my new thoughts are useless.

27
00:01:04,697 --> 00:01:07,326
The other day I was watching
some sports on television,

28
00:01:07,350 --> 00:01:11,076
and I was trying to decide
why I just don't engage with it.

29
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Some of it I find curious.

30
00:01:12,387 --> 00:01:13,642
This is odd.

31
00:01:13,983 --> 00:01:15,816
(Laughter)

32
00:01:16,362 --> 00:01:18,765
Do you think it would be
worth being that flexible

33
00:01:18,789 --> 00:01:21,041
just to be able to see
your heel at that angle?

34
00:01:21,065 --> 00:01:22,935
(Laughter)

35
00:01:25,511 --> 00:01:26,969
And here's the thing:

36
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I'm never going to be able
to relate to that,

37
00:01:29,163 --> 00:01:31,443
because I'm never going
to be able to do it, OK?

38
00:01:31,467 --> 00:01:33,285
Well, not twice, anyway.

39
00:01:33,309 --> 00:01:34,937
(Laughter)

40
00:01:37,133 --> 00:01:38,467
But I'll tell you the truth.

41
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The truth is I have never been
any good at sport, OK?

42
00:01:41,318 --> 00:01:43,995
I've reached that wonderful age
when all my friends say,

43
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"Oh, I wish I was as fit
as I was when I was 18."

44
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And I always feel rather smug then.

45
00:01:49,410 --> 00:01:51,647
(Laughter)

46
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I'm exactly as fit as I was when I --

47
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(Laughter)

48
00:01:57,643 --> 00:01:59,135
(Applause)

49
00:02:00,215 --> 00:02:03,029
I couldn't run then. I'm certainly
not going to do it now.

50
00:02:03,053 --> 00:02:04,076
(Laughter)

51
00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:05,657
So then I had my new idea:

52
00:02:05,681 --> 00:02:08,759
Why not engage people like me in sport?

53
00:02:08,783 --> 00:02:10,551
I think what the world needs now

54
00:02:10,575 --> 00:02:14,497
is the Olympics for people
with zero athletic ability.

55
00:02:14,521 --> 00:02:16,433
(Laughter)

56
00:02:16,761 --> 00:02:18,404
Oh, it would be so much more fun.

57
00:02:18,428 --> 00:02:20,038
We'd have three basic rules, OK?

58
00:02:20,062 --> 00:02:23,139
Obviously no drugs;
no corruption, no skills.

59
00:02:23,163 --> 00:02:24,203
(Laughter)

60
00:02:24,227 --> 00:02:25,380
It would be --

61
00:02:25,404 --> 00:02:27,862
No, it's a terrible idea.

62
00:02:27,886 --> 00:02:32,038
And I also know why I don't engage
with sport when I watch it on television.

63
00:02:32,062 --> 00:02:36,649
It's because probably 97 percent of it
is about men running

64
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and men kicking things,

65
00:02:38,223 --> 00:02:41,117
men trying to look
neatly packaged in Lycra.

66
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There is --

67
00:02:42,324 --> 00:02:43,822
(Laughter)

68
00:02:44,406 --> 00:02:45,584
Not always successfully.

69
00:02:45,608 --> 00:02:46,760
There is --

70
00:02:46,784 --> 00:02:47,816
(Laughter)

71
00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,073
There is so little
female sport on television,

72
00:02:52,097 --> 00:02:54,978
that a young woman watching
might be forgiven for thinking,

73
00:02:55,002 --> 00:02:56,559
and how can I put this nicely,

74
00:02:56,583 --> 00:02:59,180
that the male member
is the very lever you need

75
00:02:59,204 --> 00:03:02,809
to get yourself off the couch
and onto a sports ground.

76
00:03:02,833 --> 00:03:04,762
(Laughter)

77
00:03:05,841 --> 00:03:09,806
The inequalities in sport
are breathtaking.

78
00:03:09,830 --> 00:03:11,267
So this is what happens to me:

79
00:03:11,291 --> 00:03:12,451
I have a brand new idea,

80
00:03:12,475 --> 00:03:15,193
and immediately I come back to an old one.

81
00:03:15,217 --> 00:03:17,305
The fact is, there is not now,

82
00:03:17,329 --> 00:03:20,752
nor has there ever been
in the whole of history,

83
00:03:20,776 --> 00:03:26,642
a single country in the world
where women have equality with men.

84
00:03:26,666 --> 00:03:27,836
Not one.

85
00:03:27,860 --> 00:03:29,547
196 countries,

86
00:03:29,571 --> 00:03:31,877
it hasn't happened
in the whole of evolution.

87
00:03:31,901 --> 00:03:33,871
So, here is a picture of evolution.

88
00:03:33,895 --> 00:03:36,410
(Laughter)

89
00:03:39,817 --> 00:03:41,825
We women are not even in it!

90
00:03:41,849 --> 00:03:44,585
(Laughter)

91
00:03:46,928 --> 00:03:50,658
It's a wonder men have been able
to evolve quite so brilliantly.

92
00:03:50,682 --> 00:03:51,840
So --

93
00:03:51,864 --> 00:03:52,873
(Laughter)

94
00:03:52,897 --> 00:03:56,623
It bugs me, and I know
I should do something about it.

95
00:03:56,647 --> 00:03:58,235
But I'm busy, OK?

96
00:03:58,259 --> 00:03:59,431
I have a full-on career,

97
00:03:59,455 --> 00:04:01,595
I've got three kids,
I've got an elderly mom.

98
00:04:01,619 --> 00:04:03,186
In fact, if I'm honest with you,

99
00:04:03,210 --> 00:04:04,853
one of the reasons I came out here

100
00:04:04,877 --> 00:04:07,727
is because TED Talks said
I could have 15 minutes to myself,

101
00:04:07,751 --> 00:04:09,492
and I never have that much time --

102
00:04:09,516 --> 00:04:11,885
(Laughter)

103
00:04:11,909 --> 00:04:15,436
(Applause)

104
00:04:17,466 --> 00:04:18,616
So I'm busy.

105
00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,177
And anyway, I already had a go
at changing the world.

106
00:04:21,201 --> 00:04:22,359
Here's the thing, OK?

107
00:04:22,383 --> 00:04:25,539
Everybody has inside themselves
what I call an "activation button."

108
00:04:25,563 --> 00:04:27,949
It's the button that gets
pressed when you think,

109
00:04:27,973 --> 00:04:29,777
"I must do something about this."

110
00:04:29,801 --> 00:04:32,023
It gets pressed for all sorts of reasons.

111
00:04:32,047 --> 00:04:33,953
Maybe you face some kind of inequality,

112
00:04:33,977 --> 00:04:36,253
or you've come across
an injustice of some kind,

113
00:04:36,277 --> 00:04:37,818
sometimes an illness strikes,

114
00:04:37,842 --> 00:04:40,236
or you're born in some way disadvantaged,

115
00:04:40,260 --> 00:04:42,077
or perhaps underprivileged.

116
00:04:42,101 --> 00:04:44,006
So I was born gay, OK?

117
00:04:44,030 --> 00:04:45,290
I've always known,

118
00:04:45,314 --> 00:04:48,352
I don't think my family
were the least bit surprised.

119
00:04:48,835 --> 00:04:51,594
Here is a picture of me aged four.

120
00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:53,401
I look cute,

121
00:04:53,425 --> 00:04:56,576
but inside I genuinely believed
that I looked like Clint Eastwood.

122
00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,929
(Laughter)

123
00:05:03,907 --> 00:05:06,865
So my activation button
was pressed when I had my kids --

124
00:05:06,889 --> 00:05:10,895
three wonderful kids,
born to my then-partner.

125
00:05:10,919 --> 00:05:13,450
Now here's the thing:
I work on television in Britain.

126
00:05:13,474 --> 00:05:16,415
By the time they were born,
I was already hosting my own shows

127
00:05:16,439 --> 00:05:17,871
and working in the public eye.

128
00:05:17,895 --> 00:05:19,046
I love what I do,

129
00:05:19,070 --> 00:05:21,233
but I love my kids more.

130
00:05:21,714 --> 00:05:24,951
And I didn't want them
to grow up with a secret.

131
00:05:24,975 --> 00:05:28,460
1994, when my son, my youngest was born,

132
00:05:28,484 --> 00:05:30,556
there was not, as far as I was aware,

133
00:05:30,580 --> 00:05:35,138
a single out, gay woman
in British public life.

134
00:05:35,622 --> 00:05:37,526
I don't think secrets are a good thing.

135
00:05:37,550 --> 00:05:39,493
I think they are a cancer of the soul.

136
00:05:39,517 --> 00:05:41,669
So I decided to come out.

137
00:05:42,108 --> 00:05:44,482
Everybody warned me
that I would never work again,

138
00:05:44,506 --> 00:05:48,062
but I decided it was
absolutely worth the risk.

139
00:05:48,578 --> 00:05:49,944
Well, it was hell.

140
00:05:50,598 --> 00:05:55,164
In Britain, we have a particularly vicious
section of the right-wing press,

141
00:05:55,188 --> 00:05:56,751
and they went nuts.

142
00:05:56,775 --> 00:06:01,206
And their hatred stirred up
the less stable elements of society,

143
00:06:01,230 --> 00:06:02,860
and we got death threats --

144
00:06:02,884 --> 00:06:05,794
enough death threats
that I had to take the kids into hiding,

145
00:06:05,818 --> 00:06:08,428
and we had to have police protection.

146
00:06:08,766 --> 00:06:13,120
And I promise you there were
many moments in the still of the night

147
00:06:13,144 --> 00:06:16,398
when I was terrified by what I had done.

148
00:06:16,913 --> 00:06:18,457
Eventually the dust settled.

149
00:06:18,481 --> 00:06:21,808
Against all expectation
I carried on working,

150
00:06:21,832 --> 00:06:24,500
and my kids were and continue
to be absolutely fantastic.

151
00:06:24,524 --> 00:06:27,437
I remember when my son was six,
he had a friend over to play.

152
00:06:27,461 --> 00:06:30,054
They were in the next room;
I could hear them chatting.

153
00:06:30,078 --> 00:06:32,911
The friend said to my son,
"What's it like having two mums?"

154
00:06:32,935 --> 00:06:36,229
I was a little anxious to hear,
so I leant in to hear and my son said,

155
00:06:36,253 --> 00:06:38,475
"It's fantastic,
because if one of them's sick,

156
00:06:38,499 --> 00:06:40,663
you've still got another one
to cook for you."

157
00:06:40,687 --> 00:06:43,264
(Laughter)

158
00:06:45,422 --> 00:06:49,218
So my activation button
for gay equality was pressed,

159
00:06:49,242 --> 00:06:51,446
and along with many, many others,

160
00:06:51,470 --> 00:06:53,891
I campaigned for years for gay rights,

161
00:06:53,915 --> 00:06:57,082
and in particular, the right to marry
the person that I love.

162
00:06:57,106 --> 00:06:59,186
In the end, we succeeded.

163
00:06:59,210 --> 00:07:02,826
And in 2014, on the day
that the law was changed,

164
00:07:02,850 --> 00:07:05,996
I married my wife,
who I love very much, indeed.

165
00:07:06,020 --> 00:07:09,742
(Applause)

166
00:07:10,265 --> 00:07:12,924
We didn't do it in a quiet way --
we did it on the stage

167
00:07:12,948 --> 00:07:14,805
at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

168
00:07:15,212 --> 00:07:16,367
It was a great event.

169
00:07:16,391 --> 00:07:18,543
The hall seats two-and-a-half
thousand people.

170
00:07:18,567 --> 00:07:22,140
We invited 150 family and friends,
then I let it be known to the public:

171
00:07:22,164 --> 00:07:25,377
anybody who wanted to come and celebrate,
please come and join us.

172
00:07:25,401 --> 00:07:27,626
It would be free to anybody
who wanted to come.

173
00:07:27,650 --> 00:07:29,772
Two-and-half thousand people turned up.

174
00:07:29,796 --> 00:07:33,017
(Applause)

175
00:07:34,192 --> 00:07:35,996
Every kind of person you can imagine:

176
00:07:36,020 --> 00:07:38,620
gays, straights, rabbis,
nuns, married people,

177
00:07:38,644 --> 00:07:41,199
black, white -- the whole
of humanity was there.

178
00:07:41,223 --> 00:07:44,897
And I remember standing
on that stage thinking, "How fantastic.

179
00:07:45,310 --> 00:07:46,556
Job done.

180
00:07:46,580 --> 00:07:47,943
Love triumphs.

181
00:07:47,967 --> 00:07:49,379
Law changed."

182
00:07:49,403 --> 00:07:50,561
And I --

183
00:07:50,585 --> 00:07:53,304
(Applause)

184
00:07:53,961 --> 00:07:56,648
And I genuinely thought
my activation days were over, OK?

185
00:07:56,672 --> 00:07:59,085
So every year in that same hall,

186
00:07:59,109 --> 00:08:03,781
I host a fantastic concert to celebrate
International Women's Day.

187
00:08:03,805 --> 00:08:06,979
We gather the world's only
all-female orchestra,

188
00:08:07,003 --> 00:08:10,792
we play fantastic music by forgotten
or overlooked women composers,

189
00:08:10,816 --> 00:08:12,228
we have amazing conductors --

190
00:08:12,252 --> 00:08:14,546
it's Marin Alsop there
from Baltimore conducting,

191
00:08:14,570 --> 00:08:15,732
Petula Clark singing --

192
00:08:15,756 --> 00:08:18,436
and I give a lecture on women's history.

193
00:08:19,020 --> 00:08:22,845
I love to gather inspirational stories
from the past and pass them on.

194
00:08:22,869 --> 00:08:26,693
Too often, I think history's what I call
the Mount Rushmore model.

195
00:08:26,717 --> 00:08:31,104
It looks majestic, but the women
have been entirely left out of it.

196
00:08:31,663 --> 00:08:35,094
And I was giving a talk in 2015
about the suffragettes --

197
00:08:35,118 --> 00:08:38,773
I'm sure you know those magnificent
women who fought so hard

198
00:08:38,797 --> 00:08:41,907
for the right for women
in Britain to vote.

199
00:08:41,931 --> 00:08:45,266
And their slogan was: "Deeds, not words."

200
00:08:45,290 --> 00:08:46,540
And boy, they succeeded,

201
00:08:46,564 --> 00:08:49,444
because women did indeed
get the vote in 1928.

202
00:08:49,468 --> 00:08:51,222
So I'm giving this talk about this,

203
00:08:51,246 --> 00:08:53,842
and as I'm talking, what I realized is:

204
00:08:53,866 --> 00:08:56,178
this was not a history
lecture I was giving;

205
00:08:56,202 --> 00:08:58,694
this was not something
where the job was done.

206
00:08:59,099 --> 00:09:02,346
This was something where
there was so much left to do.

207
00:09:02,370 --> 00:09:04,326
Nowhere in the world, for example,

208
00:09:04,350 --> 00:09:08,267
do women have equal representation
in positions of power.

209
00:09:08,291 --> 00:09:11,529
OK, let's take a very quick look
at the top 100 companies

210
00:09:11,553 --> 00:09:14,220
in the London Stock Exchange in 2016.

211
00:09:14,244 --> 00:09:17,738
Top 100 companies:
How many women running them?

212
00:09:18,191 --> 00:09:20,627
Seven. OK. Seven.
That's all right, I suppose.

213
00:09:20,651 --> 00:09:25,412
Until you realize that 17
are run by men called "John."

214
00:09:25,436 --> 00:09:29,633
(Laughter)

215
00:09:37,321 --> 00:09:41,245
There are more men called John
running FTSE 100 companies --

216
00:09:41,269 --> 00:09:43,159
(Laughter)

217
00:09:43,183 --> 00:09:44,718
than there are women.

218
00:09:45,250 --> 00:09:47,470
There are 14 run by men called "Dave."

219
00:09:47,494 --> 00:09:49,938
(Laughter)

220
00:09:51,060 --> 00:09:53,676
Now, I'm sure Dave and John
are doing a bang-up job.

221
00:09:53,700 --> 00:09:54,988
(Laughter)

222
00:09:55,012 --> 00:09:56,862
OK. Why does it matter?

223
00:09:56,886 --> 00:10:01,185
Well, it's that pesky business
of the gender pay gap.

224
00:10:01,209 --> 00:10:05,122
Nowhere in the world
do women earn the same as men.

225
00:10:05,146 --> 00:10:07,078
And that is never going to change

226
00:10:07,102 --> 00:10:10,725
unless we have more women
at the top in the boardroom.

227
00:10:10,749 --> 00:10:12,135
We have plenty of laws;

228
00:10:12,159 --> 00:10:16,212
the Equal Pay Act in Britain
was passed in 1975.

229
00:10:16,563 --> 00:10:19,120
Nevertheless, there are still
many, many women

230
00:10:19,144 --> 00:10:22,181
who, from early November
until the end of the year,

231
00:10:22,205 --> 00:10:24,392
by comparison to their male colleagues,

232
00:10:24,416 --> 00:10:27,188
are effectively working for free.

233
00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,088
In fact, the World Economic
Forum estimates

234
00:10:30,112 --> 00:10:32,555
that women will finally
get equal pay in ...

235
00:10:32,938 --> 00:10:34,738
2133!

236
00:10:35,901 --> 00:10:37,553
Yay!

237
00:10:37,577 --> 00:10:40,213
(Laughter)

238
00:10:43,206 --> 00:10:44,648
That's a terrible figure.

239
00:10:44,672 --> 00:10:45,892
And here's the thing:

240
00:10:45,916 --> 00:10:48,008
the day before I came out to give my talk,

241
00:10:48,032 --> 00:10:49,784
the World Economic Forum revised it.

242
00:10:49,808 --> 00:10:52,168
So that's good, because
that's a terrible -- 2133.

243
00:10:52,192 --> 00:10:53,917
Do you know what they revised it to?

244
00:10:53,941 --> 00:10:55,131
2186.

245
00:10:55,155 --> 00:10:56,698
(Laughter)

246
00:10:57,434 --> 00:10:59,843
Yeah, another 53 years, OK?

247
00:11:00,365 --> 00:11:02,720
We are not going to get equal pay

248
00:11:02,744 --> 00:11:05,897
in my grandchildren's
grandchildren's lives

249
00:11:05,921 --> 00:11:07,303
under the current system.

250
00:11:07,327 --> 00:11:10,184
And I have waited long enough.

251
00:11:10,208 --> 00:11:12,272
I've waited long enough
in my own business.

252
00:11:12,296 --> 00:11:16,310
In 2016 I became the very
first woman on British television

253
00:11:16,334 --> 00:11:18,946
to host a prime-time panel show.

254
00:11:18,970 --> 00:11:21,006
Isn't that great? Wonderful, I'm thrilled.

255
00:11:21,030 --> 00:11:22,181
But --

256
00:11:22,205 --> 00:11:23,498
(Applause)

257
00:11:24,693 --> 00:11:26,849
But 2016! The first!

258
00:11:26,873 --> 00:11:28,835
Television's been around for 80 years!

259
00:11:28,859 --> 00:11:29,871
(Laughter)

260
00:11:29,895 --> 00:11:31,843
It may be television's not so important,

261
00:11:31,867 --> 00:11:33,810
but it's kind of symptomatic, isn't it?

262
00:11:33,834 --> 00:11:37,837
2016, the UN were looking
for a brand new ambassador

263
00:11:37,861 --> 00:11:40,652
to represent women's empowerment
and gender equality,

264
00:11:40,676 --> 00:11:42,152
and who did they choose?

265
00:11:42,522 --> 00:11:44,287
Wonder Woman.

266
00:11:44,311 --> 00:11:47,622
Yes, they chose a cartoon, OK?

267
00:11:47,646 --> 00:11:48,847
(Laughter)

268
00:11:49,181 --> 00:11:52,719
Because no woman was up to the job.

269
00:11:53,718 --> 00:11:58,282
The representation of women
in positions of power is shockingly low.

270
00:11:58,306 --> 00:12:01,783
It's true in Congress, and it's certainly
true in the British Parliament.

271
00:12:01,807 --> 00:12:06,198
In 2015, the number of men
elected to the Parliament that year

272
00:12:06,222 --> 00:12:09,103
was greater than the total number of women

273
00:12:09,127 --> 00:12:12,207
who have ever been members of Parliament.

274
00:12:12,231 --> 00:12:13,390
And why does it matter?

275
00:12:13,414 --> 00:12:15,677
Here's the thing:
if they're not at the table --

276
00:12:15,701 --> 00:12:18,797
literally, in Britain, at that table
helping to make the laws --

277
00:12:18,821 --> 00:12:23,344
do not be surprised if the female
perspective is overlooked.

278
00:12:23,416 --> 00:12:26,748
It's a great role model for young people
to see a woman in charge.

279
00:12:26,772 --> 00:12:29,861
In 2016, Britain got its second
female Prime Minister;

280
00:12:29,885 --> 00:12:31,524
Theresa May came to power.

281
00:12:31,548 --> 00:12:33,752
The day she came to power
she was challenged:

282
00:12:33,776 --> 00:12:34,970
just do one thing.

283
00:12:34,994 --> 00:12:37,982
Do one thing in the first
100 days that you're in office

284
00:12:38,006 --> 00:12:40,947
to try and improve
lives for women in Britain.

285
00:12:40,971 --> 00:12:42,968
And what did she do? Nothing.

286
00:12:43,134 --> 00:12:44,293
Nothing.

287
00:12:44,317 --> 00:12:47,882
Because she's much too busy
cleaning up the mess the boys made.

288
00:12:48,492 --> 00:12:50,365
Even having a female leader,

289
00:12:50,389 --> 00:12:53,383
they always find something better to do

290
00:12:53,407 --> 00:12:56,694
than to sort out the pesky
issue of inequality.

291
00:12:56,718 --> 00:12:59,560
So I keep talking about equality
like it matters. Does it?

292
00:12:59,584 --> 00:13:02,881
Well, let's take a very quick look
at the STEM industries, OK?

293
00:13:02,905 --> 00:13:05,472
So science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.

294
00:13:05,496 --> 00:13:10,113
Pretty much important in every
single aspect of our daily lives.

295
00:13:10,137 --> 00:13:16,441
There is the thickest and most incredibly
well-documented glass ceiling

296
00:13:16,465 --> 00:13:18,015
in the STEM industries.

297
00:13:18,504 --> 00:13:20,488
What if the cure for cancer

298
00:13:20,512 --> 00:13:22,113
or the answer the global warming

299
00:13:22,137 --> 00:13:27,082
lies in the head of a young female
scientist who fails to progress?

300
00:13:27,721 --> 00:13:30,553
So I thought all these things,

301
00:13:30,577 --> 00:13:35,503
and I knew I had to do "Deeds, not words."

302
00:13:35,968 --> 00:13:37,939
And I spoke to my wonderful friend,

303
00:13:37,963 --> 00:13:40,690
brilliant journalist
Catherine Mayer in Britain,

304
00:13:40,714 --> 00:13:42,164
and we rather foolishly --

305
00:13:42,188 --> 00:13:45,390
and I suspect there was wine involved --

306
00:13:45,414 --> 00:13:47,168
(Laughter)

307
00:13:47,192 --> 00:13:50,837
We decided to found
a brand new political party.

308
00:13:50,861 --> 00:13:52,487
Because here's the critical thing:

309
00:13:52,511 --> 00:13:57,409
the one place women and men
are absolutely equal is at the ballot box.

310
00:13:57,804 --> 00:13:59,425
We had no idea what we were doing,

311
00:13:59,449 --> 00:14:02,547
we didn't know how complicated
it was to start a political party.

312
00:14:02,571 --> 00:14:06,106
I thought, "It can't be that difficult,
men have been doing it for years."

313
00:14:06,130 --> 00:14:08,287
(Laughter)

314
00:14:08,311 --> 00:14:13,597
So we started by calling it
"The Women's Equality Party."

315
00:14:14,143 --> 00:14:15,844
And straightaway people said to me,

316
00:14:15,868 --> 00:14:17,322
"Why did you call it that?"

317
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,922
I said, "I don't know,
I just thought we'd be clear."

318
00:14:20,946 --> 00:14:23,462
(Laughter)

319
00:14:27,878 --> 00:14:31,307
I didn't want what we were doing
to be a secret, you know? I just --

320
00:14:31,331 --> 00:14:32,624
(Laughter)

321
00:14:32,648 --> 00:14:35,874
Some people said, "You can't call it that!
It's much too feminist!"

322
00:14:35,898 --> 00:14:37,726
Ooh! Scary word! Ahh!

323
00:14:38,149 --> 00:14:41,256
I can't tell you how many times
I've heard somebody say,

324
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:43,454
"I'm not a feminist, but ..."

325
00:14:43,829 --> 00:14:46,440
And I always think
if there's a "but" in the sentence,

326
00:14:46,464 --> 00:14:48,233
it can't all be roses in the garden.

327
00:14:48,611 --> 00:14:51,261
And then I started getting asked
the hilarious question,

328
00:14:51,285 --> 00:14:53,199
"Are you all going to burn your bras?"

329
00:14:53,966 --> 00:14:57,581
Yes! Because bras are famously
made of flammable material.

330
00:14:57,605 --> 00:14:59,359
(Laughter)

331
00:15:00,032 --> 00:15:02,850
That's why all women spark when they walk.

332
00:15:02,874 --> 00:15:04,603
(Laughter)

333
00:15:07,738 --> 00:15:11,038
Here's quick history sidebar for you:

334
00:15:11,062 --> 00:15:13,597
no woman ever burnt her bra in the '60s.

335
00:15:13,621 --> 00:15:15,443
It's a story made up by a journalist.

336
00:15:15,467 --> 00:15:18,092
Thank goodness journalism
has improved since then.

337
00:15:18,116 --> 00:15:19,271
So --

338
00:15:19,295 --> 00:15:20,653
(Laughter)

339
00:15:21,018 --> 00:15:23,936
I announced what we were going
to do in a broadcast interview,

340
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,062
and straightaway,
the emails started coming.

341
00:15:26,086 --> 00:15:28,329
First hundreds,
then thousands and thousands,

342
00:15:28,353 --> 00:15:32,153
from every age group: from the very young
to women in their '90s,

343
00:15:32,177 --> 00:15:33,559
to hundreds of wonderful men.

344
00:15:33,583 --> 00:15:35,595
People wrote and said,
"Please, can I help?

345
00:15:35,619 --> 00:15:37,835
Please, can I visit you
at party headquarters?"

346
00:15:37,859 --> 00:15:40,527
We didn't have a headquarters --
we didn't have a party!

347
00:15:40,551 --> 00:15:41,749
We didn't have anything.

348
00:15:41,773 --> 00:15:45,672
All we had was a wonderful,
tight group of fabulous friends

349
00:15:45,696 --> 00:15:50,381
trying to answer emails
pretty much 24-7 in our pajamas.

350
00:15:51,091 --> 00:15:52,242
We were all busy.

351
00:15:52,266 --> 00:15:54,552
Many of us had careers,
many of us had children,

352
00:15:54,576 --> 00:15:57,311
but we did what women do,
and we shared the work.

353
00:15:57,335 --> 00:16:00,773
And almost instantly, we agreed
on certain fundamental things.

354
00:16:00,797 --> 00:16:04,289
First thing: we want to be
the only political party in the world

355
00:16:04,313 --> 00:16:07,018
whose main aim was
to no longer need to exist.

356
00:16:07,042 --> 00:16:08,847
That's a fantastic idea.

357
00:16:08,871 --> 00:16:12,701
We wanted to be the only political party
with no particular political leaning.

358
00:16:12,725 --> 00:16:15,822
We wanted people from the left,
from the right, from the middle,

359
00:16:15,846 --> 00:16:16,998
every age group.

360
00:16:17,022 --> 00:16:19,837
Because the whole point
was to work with a simple agenda:

361
00:16:19,861 --> 00:16:23,080
let's get equality
in every aspect of our lives,

362
00:16:23,104 --> 00:16:24,260
and when we're finished,

363
00:16:24,284 --> 00:16:26,519
let's go home and get
the other chores done.

364
00:16:26,543 --> 00:16:27,625
(Laughter)

365
00:16:27,649 --> 00:16:30,056
And we wanted to change
how politics is conducted.

366
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:31,563
I don't know if you have this,

367
00:16:31,587 --> 00:16:34,024
but in Britain we have
two major political parties.

368
00:16:34,048 --> 00:16:35,696
They're the dinosaurs of politics.

369
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:39,258
And how they speak to each other
is shameful and poisonous.

370
00:16:39,735 --> 00:16:42,353
I'm sure you've never had
that kind of name-calling --

371
00:16:42,377 --> 00:16:43,722
(Laughter)

372
00:16:44,546 --> 00:16:46,163
And lying here.

373
00:16:47,067 --> 00:16:49,436
Wouldn't it be great
if just one politician said,

374
00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:51,355
"Do you know, my opponent has a point.

375
00:16:51,379 --> 00:16:54,778
Let's see if we can't work together
and get the job done."

376
00:16:54,802 --> 00:16:59,319
(Applause)

377
00:17:01,163 --> 00:17:03,576
And let's get more women
into politics, OK?

378
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,774
Let's immediately get
more women into politics

379
00:17:05,798 --> 00:17:09,484
by being the only political party
to offer free childcare to our candidates,

380
00:17:09,508 --> 00:17:12,181
so they can get out of the house
and start campaigning.

381
00:17:12,205 --> 00:17:14,461
(Applause)

382
00:17:15,596 --> 00:17:18,022
Within 10 months,

383
00:17:18,046 --> 00:17:21,994
we had more than 70 branches
of our party across the UK.

384
00:17:22,018 --> 00:17:25,177
We stood candidates for election
in London, Scotland and Wales

385
00:17:25,201 --> 00:17:26,765
in May 2016.

386
00:17:26,789 --> 00:17:30,334
One in 20 people voted
for our candidate for London Mayor.

387
00:17:30,358 --> 00:17:35,551
And when the men in the race
saw how many votes we were attracting,

388
00:17:35,575 --> 00:17:36,749
wonder of wonders,

389
00:17:36,773 --> 00:17:41,103
they began to talk about the need
to tackle gender equality.

390
00:17:41,127 --> 00:17:44,187
(Applause)

391
00:17:47,588 --> 00:17:50,236
You know, I've been promised
change since I was a child.

392
00:17:50,260 --> 00:17:51,317
It was always coming:

393
00:17:51,341 --> 00:17:54,039
women were going to stand
shoulder to shoulder with men.

394
00:17:54,063 --> 00:17:56,546
All I got were empty promises
and disappointment --

395
00:17:56,570 --> 00:17:59,940
enough disappointment
to found a political party.

396
00:17:59,964 --> 00:18:03,070
But here is my new idea for today --
this is my five percent, OK?

397
00:18:03,094 --> 00:18:04,693
And this one is really good.

398
00:18:04,717 --> 00:18:07,463
The fact is, this is not enough.

399
00:18:07,487 --> 00:18:12,549
It is not enough to found one political
party for equality in a single country.

400
00:18:12,573 --> 00:18:17,120
What we need is a seismic change
in the global political landscape.

401
00:18:17,144 --> 00:18:19,838
And the wonderful thing
about the model we have created

402
00:18:19,862 --> 00:18:21,737
is that it would work anywhere.

403
00:18:21,761 --> 00:18:23,421
It would work in America,

404
00:18:23,445 --> 00:18:25,839
it would work in Australia,
it would work in India.

405
00:18:25,863 --> 00:18:28,770
It's like we've made the perfect recipe:
anybody can cook it,

406
00:18:28,794 --> 00:18:30,190
and it's good for everybody.

407
00:18:30,214 --> 00:18:31,837
And we want to give it away.

408
00:18:31,861 --> 00:18:34,579
If you want to know what we did,
we're giving it away.

409
00:18:34,603 --> 00:18:40,217
Can you imagine if we could mobilize
millions of women across the world

410
00:18:40,241 --> 00:18:43,559
to say, "That's enough!"
to the traditional battles of politics?

411
00:18:43,583 --> 00:18:46,617
To say, "Stop the bickering,
let's get the work done."

412
00:18:46,641 --> 00:18:49,948
We could literally change the world.

413
00:18:49,972 --> 00:18:51,389
And I want that.

414
00:18:51,413 --> 00:18:54,825
(Applause)

415
00:18:56,707 --> 00:18:58,080
I want ...

416
00:18:58,104 --> 00:18:59,555
(Applause)

417
00:19:00,044 --> 00:19:02,514
I want that for our daughters,

418
00:19:02,538 --> 00:19:04,041
and I want it for our sons.

419
00:19:04,065 --> 00:19:08,457
Because the fact is:
equality is better for everyone.

420
00:19:08,481 --> 00:19:11,412
Come on people, let's activate!
Let's change the world!

421
00:19:11,436 --> 00:19:14,292
I know we can do it, and it wants doing!

422
00:19:14,316 --> 00:19:18,815
(Applause)