Melinda French Gates

French Gates is founder of Pivotal Ventures and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Recent Articles

We Need More Women in Public Office. Here’s How to Get Them There

Melinda French Gates on why she's focusing on getting more women in public office

By Melinda French Gates

3 Ways to Help End Child Marriage

Amal Clooney, Melinda French Gates, and Michelle Obama on why stopping this practice is critical to a more equal future

By Amal Clooney , Melinda French Gates and Michelle Obama

Decisions Are Still Being Made For Women, Instead of By Them. We’re Suffering As a Result

When you look at the stories that have dominated the headlines in recent months, a certain pattern emerges: A global pandemic that is disproportionately destroying women’s livelihoods. A Taliban government that is stripping women and...

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda French Gates: Our Economy Is Powered by Caregivers. That’s Why It’s Time for National Paid Leave

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” a member of Congress told me earlier this summer. We were talking about the chance to pass a desperately needed, long overdue national paid family and medical leave law. After...

By Melinda French Gates

Women Must Be Equal Partners Rebuilding After COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis that disproportionately impacted women should be followed by a recovery that puts them at the center

By Melinda French Gates

Here's Why I'm Committing $1 Billion to Promote Gender Equality

In 2018, there were more men named James running Fortune 500 companies than there were women. This year, only one CEO on that list of 500 is a woman of color. Women are 51 percent...

By Melinda French Gates

What Graduates Need to Hear at Commencement This Year

Leaders shouldn't just offer wisdom. They should make promises

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: It's Time for a New Era for Women

You may never know their names. They work beneath the headlines and far from the spotlight. When they receive formal recognition from bodies like the Nobel Committee, it is the exception, not the norm. But...

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: The World is Finally Listening. Me too. Me too. Me too.

In 1976, one year after the term “sexual harassment” was coined, the magazine Redbook reported that 90 percent of women surveyed said they’d been sexually harassed at work. Last year, the Elephant in the Valley...

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates Shares the Essential Quality She Inherited From Her Father

‘His need to uncover the world’s mysteries was infectious’

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: How I Raised a Feminist Son

'He’s demonstrated his belief that gender equality is something worth standing up for'

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: We Can Honor MLK Jr Through Service

'Changing the world doesn't always look like changing the world'

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: The Photo That Influenced Me Most

To celebrate the launch of TIME’s new multimedia project – 100 Photographs: The Most Influential Images of All Time – we asked leaders in a number of fields, from technology to the arts to business,...

By Melinda French Gates

Why Poverty Is Sexist

One of the most outspoken advocates I know for women and girls is actually a man. As co-founder of the ONE Campaign, my friend Bono spends a lot of time speaking out against global poverty....

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: 'Poverty is Sexist'

Women are more likely to be impoverished, and it’s harder for them to break out of it

By Melinda French Gates

Melinda Gates: On My Daughter's 13th Birthday, A Wish For Girls Everywhere

Women and girls still face insurmountable barriers to being able to fully participate in society, and adolescence is the time when these gender inequalities really begin showing

By Melinda French Gates
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