Tearing Down 'Barriers That Hold Women Back'

Melinda French Gates has long advocated for women on a global level. But the rollback of reproductive rights in the U.S. is sharpening her focus on gender equity at home-and adding fuel to the fire for Pivotal Ventures, her ambitious investment company.

- Michal Lev-Ram

IT'S ANOTHER GLOOMY day in Seattle, and the glistening gray surface of Lake Washington is barely distinguishable from the cloudy skies above. But Melinda French Gates has brought an air of sunshine to the room. She takes a seat, asks if it's okay to remove her mask, and reveals the buoyant smile that's beneath. The philanthropist says she's still energized from a just-finished trip to Rwanda and Senegal-her first since the COVID pandemic immobilized the world more than two years ago. "It felt great to be back on the continent," says French Gates, her eyes lighting up. "Just talking to the women, about how the norm is changing there for women's roles, made it feel very hopeful."

French Gates, 58, has been pushing society to rethink such norms for decades-advancing the premise that improving conditions for women is a key to attacking almost any social problem. She has "baked" gender into the myriad initiatives the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds, from efforts to fight infectious diseases to programs aimed at eradicating hunger. "There is a gender component to most strategies," says French Gates, cochair of the behemoth nonprofit, which boasts an endowment of $53.3 billion. "Like in the case of malaria, who hangs the bed net? You're making a huge mistake if you're not looking at gender here."