--- title: Melinda Gates: 'Me Too' Makes Rape, Harassment Unacceptable description: The philanthropist writes about the 'Me too' movement that has swept the globe and forced institutions to usher in change canonical: https://time.com/5030114/melinda-gates-me-too/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-20T12:00:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:08.687Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Melinda Gates: The World is Finally Listening. Me too. og:description: 'Discrimination, harassment and rape have never been acceptable. They’ve just been accepted.' og:url: https://time.com/5030114/melinda-gates-me-too/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3a145376668b74e/6988e656929fad2c4dbee8ba/melinda-gates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5760 og:image:height: 3240 og:image:alt: MELINDA GATES og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Melinda Gates: The World is Finally Listening. Me too. twitter:description: 'Discrimination, harassment and rape have never been acceptable. They’ve just been accepted.' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3a145376668b74e/6988e656929fad2c4dbee8ba/melinda-gates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:11 video:published: 2017-09-06 section: ideas topics: self-definition, women in the workplace, meeting participation, confidence, taking risks, gender perception, attitude and aptitude, opportunity, being true to yourself, work-life balance, Little League, encouragement for girls genre: interview, motivational advice tones: inspirational, encouraging, candid, reflective, empowering emotions: empowerment (high), encouragement (high), determination (medium), gratitude (low) sentiment: positive audience: women, young professionals, girls, career-minded viewers, aspiring leaders people: Melinda Gates, Meryl Streep transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Melinda Gates: The World is Finally Listening. Me too. Me too. Me too. > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=927a3f6b-228b-4e75-accb-5feaadb1a9b3&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: FIRSTS Melinda Gates [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Melinda Gates](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kIl6lijZ.m3u8) (2:11)  _Published 2017-09-06. Melinda Gates is the FIRST woman to give away more than $40 billion._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Melinda Gates offers advice on defining oneself, participating in meetings, taking risks, and staying true to who you are. She contrasts how men and women respond to job opportunities and encourages women to leap rather than wait to feel ready. She credits attitude, aptitude and opportunity, and the people who supported her, for her path. She closes by urging viewers to know their power and to focus on making a life rather than a living. ## Key points - People will try to define you and limit what you can do, but they can only do that if you let them. (00:00) - In meetings, you should speak and know what you are talking about; staying silent creates the impression that you are not prepared to be there. (00:15) - A man will raise his hand for a job he has never been qualified for, while women often say they need more experience. (00:29) - People will not feel any wiser or more ready in ten years than they do now, so one might as well leap. (00:51) - If you want to do something, just do it and hope that people catch up to you. (01:08) - Success comes from attitude, aptitude and opportunity; people who saw a good attitude placed her in challenging roles and gave opportunities because she met and exceeded the standard. (01:41) - Periods of great intensity doing one thing or another are not bad; Meryl Streep said every successful woman's life has its ebbs and flows. (02:10) - Know the power of your intellect, values, commitment and courage, and don't let anyone trivialize how you have spent your years. (02:25) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:29] Defining yourself and speaking up. Gates says people try to define you, and that you should define yourself and participate actively in meetings. - [00:29 to 01:15] Women, caution and taking the leap. She contrasts how men and women respond to job opportunities and urges leaping without waiting to feel ready. - [01:15 to 01:41] Little League and being true to yourself. She encourages girls playing Little League and says you cannot make everyone happy, so be true to yourself. - [01:41 to 02:10] Attitude, aptitude and opportunity. She explains how a good attitude and meeting standards led to opportunities and that people want you to succeed. - [02:10 to 02:11] Ebbs, flows and making a life. She cites Meryl Streep on ebbs and flows and closes with knowing your power and making a life, not a living. ## Key quotes - [00:04] Melinda Gates: "But people can only do that if you let them." - [00:51] Melinda Gates: "we should also know that we're not going to feel any wiser or any more ready." - [01:35] Melinda Gates: "You'll never make everyone happy." - [01:41] Melinda Gates: "It's about attitude, aptitude, and opportunity." - [02:25] Melinda Gates: "Know your power, know the power of your intellect, of your values, and your commitment, the courage you have." - [02:47] Melinda Gates: "It's more about making a life Than making a living, that's what matters." ## Questions this video answers - How should you respond when people try to define or limit you? [00:00] - Why is it important to participate in meetings? [00:15] - How do men and women differ in responding to job opportunities? [00:29] - Why should you leap instead of waiting to feel ready? [00:51] - What factors does Melinda Gates credit for her opportunities? [01:41] - What does Gates say matters most in life? [02:47] by [Melinda French Gates](https://time.com/author/melinda-gates/) ## Melinda French Gates Nov 20, 2017 12:00 PM UTC  Melinda Gates during her interaction with women in Kothwa village in Danapur, Bihar, India, on April 18, 2015\. She was accompanied by Sudha Varghese (light blue sari). Seated on Melinda Gates' right was Rita Devi (dark pink sari) and on her left was Yamini Atmavilas of the Gates Foundation. Sudha Varghese's Nari Gunjan works with women and girls of Dalit communities in this village. Melinda Gates during her interaction with women in Kothwa village in Danapur, Bihar, India, on April 18, 2015\. She was accompanied by Sudha Varghese (light blue sari). Seated on Melinda Gates' right was Rita Devi (dark pink sari) and on her left was Yamini Atmavilas of the Gates Foundation. Sudha Varghese's Nari Gunjan works with women and girls of Dalit communities in this village. Prashant Panjiar by [Melinda French Gates](https://time.com/author/melinda-gates/) ## Melinda French Gates Nov 20, 2017 12:00 PM UTC In 1976, one year after the term “sexual harassment” was coined, the magazine _Redbook_ reported that[ 90 percent of women](http://www.redbookmag.com/life/money-career/a49220/sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/) surveyed said they’d been sexually harassed at work. Last year, the [Elephant in the Valley](https://www.recode.net/2016/1/11/11588656/60-percent-of-senior-women-in-tech-say-theyve-been-sexually-harassed) study revealed that 60 percent of women in tech had been subject to unwanted sexual advances. It’s disheartening to think that Silicon Valley today, in some ways the most innovative place in the world, is in other ways almost half a century in the past. But 2017 is proving to be a watershed moment for women in the workplace and beyond. Instead of being bullied into retreat or pressured into weary resignation, we are raising our voices—and raising them louder than ever before. What’s more, the world is finally listening. The stories women are telling are not new—nor, by any means, are they limited to Silicon Valley and Hollywood. I’ve spent the last 20 years talking to women all over the globe, and I hear these stories everywhere I go. From board rooms to presidential palaces to mats spread on the ground in the world’s poorest villages, the message from women is the same: [_Me too_](http://time.com/4989696/ellen-degeneres-me-too-message/)_._ [_Me too_](http://time.com/4988137/me-too-men-listen/)_._ [_Me too_](http://time.com/4987390/me-too-shows-pervasive-sexual-abuse/)_._ In every country and every continent, we have been taught that being born female comes with a cost. That if we are the victims of harassment or discrimination or violence, it’s somehow our fault. It’s the price we pay for daring to have ambition, to seek a job, to express an opinion, to assert our inalienable right to decide who will have access to our bodies. But those who try to normalize this kind of inequality often forget that its costs are paid not only by women but by all of us. How many great thinkers, leaders, innovators, entertainers, disruptors have we all missed out on because the doors to these industries have been guarded by abusive men? So let’s be very clear. Anyone who attempts to excuse any mistreatment of women by saying “what’s acceptable has changed” is missing the point entirely. Discrimination, harassment and rape have _never_ been acceptable. They’ve just been _accepted_. For most of history, women haven’t had an equal say in the norms that shape a society, or an equal number of seats at the tables where decisions are made. We haven’t had an equal chance to determine what kind of world we live in. That is why the cascade of horrifying revelations we have read this year has actually made me at least a little hopeful. In 2017, we now expect something better than what has always been accepted. We have launched a movement bent on shattering the glass ceiling for _all_ women: women of color, disabled women, immigrant women, poor women, older women. A movement about rejecting the roles that society has assigned to us, and to our daughters, and demanding the power to choose our own roles. We are at last confronting the fact that by staying quiet, we protect an unequal, immoral status quo. By raising our voices, we protect each other. Each woman who speaks up about her own experience is making it easier for other women to do the same. And because of the strength in our numbers, the institutions that have enabled systemic sexism and discrimination are starting to act — to fire, to expel, to ostracize, to pass laws. To change. “I wish I had known that there were women in the business I could have talked to,” [Lupita Nyong’o](http://time.com/4990561/lupita-nyongo-harvey-weinstein-sexual-harassment/) wrote recently. “I wish I had known that there were ears to hear me. That justice could be served.” I hope that her words are this year’s legacy—and that there will always be women to talk to and ears to hear. Because if there are, then justice will finally be served for all of us. ## Transcript [00:00] People will look at you and they'll try and define you. [00:02] Whether you're a woman, whether you're young. They'll [00:04] try and cabin off what you are able to do. But people [00:08] can only do that if you let them. And so, I always [00:11] viewed by job as defining myself. If we are in a [00:15] meeting, we're there for a reason. Not to just sit there [00:18] and absorb. If you are only there not speaking, you [00:23] kind of create the impression that you're not prepared [00:26] to be there. You need to participate and you need to [00:29] know what you're talking about. You can ask a man to [00:32] do a job that he's never been qualified to do, and he'll [00:34] raise his hand and say, absolutely, I will do that job. [00:37] Women always say, I'm not sure if I'm ready it. I need [00:39] more experience. I don't necessarily know that there's [00:42] anything wrong with being more cautious and careful. I [00:44] mean, why have we come to decide that being brash [00:47] and overly aggressive should be the way we are. But [00:51] we should also know that we're not going to feel any [00:54] wiser or any more ready. Then ten years, then [00:58] we did ten years ago. So we might as well just leap. [01:01] There is a lot of perception of, my gosh it's [01:05] really hard because of the gender, what are you gonna [01:08] do about that, just not do it? If you wanna do [01:12] something, then just do it and then hppe that people [01:15] catch up to you. For girls that are going to [01:19] play in Little League. Anything can happen. You can be [01:22] up by 10 runs and you can lose the game, so, play [01:25] focused, make sure you play as a team and hopefully, [01:28] you hit a home run because no girl has ever hit a home [01:31] run and I will be cheering for you. You'll never make [01:35] everyone happy. So you just have to be exactly who it [01:38] is that you are, and at least know that you're being [01:41] true to yourself. It's about attitude, aptitude, and [01:45] opportunity. Who knew I would be here. But [01:49] it all started with folks that thought I had a good [01:52] attitude. That put me in places that challenged [01:56] me and then provided me opportunities because I met [02:01] and exceeded the standard. You often don't realize [02:04] people want you to succeed and they often have very [02:06] good solutions both practical and in terms of thinking [02:10] about opportunities for you. And the other thing is, I [02:13] think it's not too bad To have periods of great intensity [02:17] doing one thing or the other. Meryl Streep once said, [02:21] every successful woman's life has its ebbs and flows. [02:25] Know your power, know the power of your intellect, of [02:28] your values, and your commitment, the courage you [02:31] have. And don't let anybody trivialize How you have [02:35] spent your years. All of them have contributing to [02:38] making a very unique and special person. Just take [02:42] joy. Don't let anyone discourage you from that thing [02:47] that you love the most. It's more about making a life [02:51] Than making a living, that's what matters. [02:56] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5030114/melinda-gates-me-too/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5030114/melinda-gates-me-too/"},"headline":"Melinda Gates: The World is Finally Listening. Me too. 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