As a woman finds economic opportunity, even if she’s only earning a couple of dollars a day, if she can save it on her phone, she then makes different decisions for her household than her husband might.
MELINDA GATESAs a woman finds economic opportunity, even if she’s only earning a couple of dollars a day, if she can save it on her phone, she then makes different decisions for her household than her husband might.
MELINDA GATESIf you ask, who has the chance to move into the city and get a good job out in the developing world? It’s a man. Who’s left to care for the kids back at home? The woman is.
MELINDA GATESWith economic opportunity, sometimes it’s making sure that if they’re not in a place where they can have good jobs, that when they have economic opportunity, they have digital tools to use.
MELINDA GATESI care much more about saving the lives of mothers and babies than I do about a fancy museum somewhere.
MELINDA GATESIn different places you run into myths around vaccination or around family planning. In the United States, one of the myths that existed for a long time, that has been completely debunked, was that autism was linked to a vaccine.
MELINDA GATESI realized that the only way to get into a good college was to be valedictorian or salutatorian. So that was my goal.
MELINDA GATESKids are falling through the cracks and nobody notices it. That to me is what’s wrong with the school system.
MELINDA GATESEveryone agrees that the failure of our high schools is tragic. It’s bad business, and it’s bad policy. But we act as if it can’t be helped. It can be helped. We designed these high schools; we can redesign them.
MELINDA GATESIf you can’t travel to the developing world, look at helping to fund a woman with a small loan and follow her. Learn her story. Learn about the difference that you’re making.
MELINDA GATESMy undergraduate work was in computer science and economics. It just happened to be at that time when 34 percent of computer-science majors were women. We didn’t realize it was at the peak at the time.
MELINDA GATESNow we just really need to do the work, which we’re doing, to get contraceptives out to women worldwide.
MELINDA GATESMen make different investments than women do. Women tend to invest more of their earnings than men do in their family’s well-being – as much as 10 times more.
MELINDA GATESDeep human connection is … the purpose and the result of a meaningful life – and it will inspire the most amazing acts of love, generosity, and humanity.
MELINDA GATESIf you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.
MELINDA GATESIf I really believe all lives have equal value, and if I use contraceptives, which I do, and if I’m counselling my son and my two daughters to use them, how am I not serving the women who don’t have access to the contraceptives they need?
MELINDA GATESThe premise of this foundation is one life on this planet is no more valuable than the next.
MELINDA GATES