Melinda Gates at Microsoft - 'The Moment of Lift'

Melinda Gates, philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls, and Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO - a fireside chat about the link between women’s empowerment and the health of societies.

Melinda French Gates is one of the world’s foremost advocates for women, driven by the beliefs that no one should be excluded, all lives have equal value, and gender equity is the lever that lifts everything.

She discusses some of the tremendous opportunities that exist right now to turbocharge change. She’ll describe simple and effective ways that each one of us can make a difference. She’ll also share more about her current efforts: to ensure women everywhere have access to every kind of job; to encourage men around the globe to share equally in the burdens of household work; to advocate for paid family and medical leave for everyone; and to eliminate gender bias in all its forms.

Gates is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she sets the direction and priorities of the world’s largest philanthropy organization. She’s also the founder of Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company that works to drive social progress for women and families in the United States. Gates grew up in Dallas, Texas. She earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Duke University and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School. She spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before she left the company to focus on her family and philanthropic work.