Melinda French Gates

Melinda French Gates at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2011.World Economic Forum via Wikimedia Commons

In May 2024, American philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced that she was resigning as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, following her divorce from billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates in 2021.[1] However, French Gates, a fierce advocate for women and girls, will continue her philanthropy through her own company, Pivotal Ventures. To begin this new chapter in her work, French Gates is committing $1 billion to further women’s rights and opportunities across the globe over the next two years.[2]

Early Life and Education

Melinda French Gates was born in Dallas, Texas, on August 15^th, 1964. Her father was Raymond Joseph French Junior, an aerospace engineer who worked on NASA’s Apollo Space Program; her mother, Elaine Agnes Amerland, was a stay-at-home mother to four children.[3] French Gates went to St. Monica Catholic School in Dallas and was the valedictorian of her class.

Her interest in technology and computer science began when her father bought one of the first computers available to purchase, the Apple II. She was immediately enthralled by the computer games and even began to learn the Beginners’ All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) programming languages.[4] After graduating as valedictorian from Ursuline Academy in 1982, French Gates went on to study for a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics at Duke University; she graduated in 1986. The following year, she earned a Master of Business Administration from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.[5]

Career and Role at Microsoft

After earning her MBA, French Gates joined Microsoft (at the time, a fairly small software company) as a marketing manager and worked on the development of several of the company’s products such as Word, Publisher, Money, and Cinemania.[6] Later, French Gates was made General Manager of Information Products; she held the position until she left the company in 1996.[7] During her time at Microsoft, French Gates met Microsoft’s co-founder and CEO Bill Gates. The two began a relationship, married in 1994, and share three children. When French Gates left Microsoft, she did so to focus on their children.[8] She did, however, begin serving on the Duke University Board of Trustees the year she left and continued to do so until 2003. 

Philanthropy

In 2000, Bill and Melinda Gates launched the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, after learning of millions of infant deaths in poorer countries every year from diseases that are easily treated in the world’s wealthier countries.[9] The couple hoped to use their personal wealth to improve global health, decrease poverty in third world countries, promote equality, and make education more accessible in the United States; they have given $59.5 billion to the foundation since it was launched.[10] As of 2024, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the second largest charitable foundation in the world.

that she was resigning as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, following her divorce from billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates in 2021.[1] However, French Gates, a fierce advocate for women and girls, will continue her philanthropy through her own company, Pivotal Ventures. To begin this new chapter in her work, French Gates is committing $1 billion to further women’s rights and opportunities across the globe over the next two years.[2]

Moment of Lift Books  

In 2019, French Gates published her first book, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World. In it, she tells the stories of women that she has met through her many years of philanthropic work and travel around the world. She also tells her own story, detailing her journey towards becoming such a strong advocate for the world’s women and girls.[17] Whilst the stories and achievements of prominent women such as Katharine Graham and Ruth Bader Ginsberg are featured in the book, there is a much stronger focus on untold stories of women from all over the world. Take Anna, a woman French Gates met and stayed with in Tanzania, who used her voice to summon huge change in her community:

Writing The Moment of Lift inspired French Gates to partner with publishing house Flatiron Books to create an imprint called Moment of Lift Books, focused on publishing nonfiction works by those working to bring about equality for women.[18] On why she created the imprint, French Gates said:

The experience of sharing The Moment of Lift with the world made two things very clear to me: First, there are many more stories that deserve to be told. Second, there are others who deserve the chance to tell them. Those convictions led me to partner with Flatiron to create Moment of Lift Books, an imprint dedicated to publishing original nonfiction by visionaries working to unlock a more equal world for women and girls. I’m excited to have this chance to amplify important voices and keep gender equality at the center of the conversation.[19]

The MY HERO Project Global Educator Award 

In 2019, Melinda French Gates was the winner of the MY HERO Project’s Global Educator Award. The award honors leaders using media, art, and technology to empower and engage learning for youth around the world.

Read more about why Melinda French Gates won the award here.

Find out more about other recipients of the Global Educator Award here.

Conclusion

Melinda French Gates’ impact on global philanthropy and social progress has been immeasurable over the last almost twenty-five years. She has leveraged her own privilege and opportunity to create opportunities for others and amplify the voices of women and girls from across the globe. In this new chapter of her philanthropic career, she is sure to continue to effect meaningful change and leave an indelible mark on countless lives worldwide.

[1] Honderich, Holly. Melinda French Gates to quit Gates Foundation. [Online] Available https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69005778.2024.

[2] Blasey, Laura. Melinda French Gates to donate $1bn in women's rights. [Online] Available https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjqqw2nwv5do.2024.

[3] Alexander, Kerri Lee. Melinda Gates. [Online] Available https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/melinda-gates.2019.

[4] Office romance: how Bill met Melinda. [Online] Available https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/office-romance-how-bill-met-melinda-855292.html.2008.

[5] Loudenback, Tanza. The incredible life of Melinda Gates — one of the world’s richest and most powerful women. [Online] Available https://www.businessinsider.nl/life-of-melinda-gates-2016-3/.2017.

[6] Independent, 2008.

[7] Alexander, Kerri Lee. 2019.

[8] Ibid.

[9] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/our-story

[10] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/foundation-fact-sheet

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_charitable_foundations

[12] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/foundation-fact-sheet

[13] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/our-story

[14] Honderich, Holly. 2024.

[15] https://www.pivotalventures.org/about

[16] https://www.pivotalventures.org/work

[17] https://www.momentoflift.com/the-moment-of-lift

[18] https://www.momentoflift.com/about

[19] Ibid.