Inside Melinda French Gates’ plans to end gender inequality

Melinda French Gates is one of the most influential philanthropists in the world. As co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private charitable foundation in the U.S., she spearheaded donations of totaling $77.6 billion in grants since its inception in 2000. However, Gates will be resigning from the foundation as of June 7th, 2024.

Now, she wants women to have the opportunities she and many others did not and end gender inequality in the United States. French Gates's work in diversifying opportunities continues at Pivotal Ventures LLC, which she founded in 2015. Under French Gates’ vision, Pivotal Ventures has pledged $1 billion to investment and incubation firms supporting initiatives that empower women and people of color in four key sectors: politics, technology, finance, and storytelling.

From her early days at Microsoft to her life as a mother and former life partner to one of the most influential men on the planet, Yahoo Finance delves into the personal and professional life and persona of one of the world’s wealthiest and most influential women. Yahoo Finance spoke to French Gates in mid-March, before she announced her resignation, to unpack how she got to where she is and where she plans to go next.

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Video transcript

We are here to lift up everyone else.

Everyone else that has either been on the margins or left behind Melinda.

French Gates is stepping down as the co chair of one of the world's largest private charitable foundations and is now shifting gears to focus on pivotal ventures.

A venture capital firm she founded in 2015, its goal to direct capital to people outside the most white male business start up ecosystem.

I look for partners who are brave and bold and willing to lead with a new idea.

French Gate started her career at Microsoft in 1987 and rose to the position of General manager of information products but helping develop and H A vision for a company that would go on to revolutionize computing in the world had its challenges.

I almost quit two years in because of what you call this bro culture.

By 2000, she co founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to reduce health inequities in low income countries.

And thanks to an annual donation of $3.1 billion from friend and legendary investor Warren Buffett.

It catapulted French gates into the upper echelon of the philanthropic world now at the age of 59 and with a reported net worth of $13.3 billion.

French Gates has opted to forge her own path.

Launching the next chapter of her career with a different focus and vision, a world of gender equality.

Yahoo Finance sat down with Melinda French Gates at Pivotal Ventures headquarters in Kirkland, Washington to explore how she views her leadership path and strategy to end gender inequality.

At this point in Pivotal ventures life, what are you up to here?

I'm really trying to advance women's power in the United States and people of color because we still are not nearly far enough um on women's power in the United States.

And in fact, I think there's been a rollback as we see with the Dobbs decision and other of many things you've been really out in front of this and doing this work, this impactful work for many years.

Why did you get started?

Particularly as I was traveling to low income countries, the barriers are just right there in front of you.

They're not unseen when you're in a low income country.

But as I would turn the question back on myself and say, how far are we really in the United States?

I realized there was just so much more work to do.

We're still 208 years away from equality in this country for women and we're the highest income country in the world.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum which evaluated gender gaps in pay, workforce participation, education, health and political participation.

French Gates wants to shrink those gender gaps in the US by 2030.

That's why in 2019, she announced a $1 billion pledge over 10 years to achieve this goal to date.

Pivotal ventures has invested in over 100 and 50 organizations like EVs A wealth management company by Women for Women, founded by former banking executive, Sally Ruche and the National Partnership for Women and families, a nonprofit seeking to attain equality for women.

These private sector companies venture funds, nonprofits and advocacy groups are game changers in four key sectors, finance, politics, technology and storytelling.

The collection of, of leaders that you are invested in, is there a tie that binds what makes them successful from your vantage?

They are looking for diversity in their own portfolio.

And they're saying, how can we look at VC with a bit of a different lens?

You'd be amazed how many women and people of color I have spoken through to who have run the Gauntlet on Sand Hill Road.

And people just literally don't understand their businesses because they don't have a person of color in their venture capital space or they don't have a woman.

So they don't understand the markets.

The numbers clearly back French Gates up.

According to a recent mckinsey report, companies founded solely by women garnered less than 2% of the total capital invested in VC backed start ups and only 1/10 of a percent of VC funds went to Black and Latino women founders.

And so I'm trying to prove out that there are gigantic markets that are being left behind.

And guess what?

I don't wanna leave money off the table.

I, I think there are places we can invest and I can make money within the VC space.

Pivotal ventures, makes both indirect and direct investments into companies seeking series A B and C funds and investment rounds into new businesses.

100% of the funds it invests in have female general partners while over 60% have at least one general partner of color.

If a leader or female leader comes to you and says, Melinda, I want you to invest in me.

What qualities are you looking for?

Well, I look for what change they're trying to create in society.

Do I think I can get a return on my money?

And who are they like as a leader?

Do they have a proven track record?

And are they taking some risk?

I think so often.

We don't look at females particularly in the VC space of being willing to take risk and yet they are.

But I know you've also been talking a lot about having more women in politics.

Senators Governors.

How do you see things?

Where is that situation right now?

I think one thing we don't look at as a country is, there are 7000 seats in state houses and states control a lot of resources and can make very good policies.

Sometimes they actually get out in front of the federal government.

Actually often currently women make up more than 50% of the United States population but hold only 28% of the seats in Congress.

One estimate says it could take 84 years before we reach gender parity in Congress.

Having those seats represent all of society.

I think again, they will make different policies and laws but I see those 7000 seats as needing to be diverse.

And ultimately, I think in the United States, you know, it's also time to have a female president at some point.

Why hasn't that happened?

Melinda?

That is the the million dollar question.

You know, I think we are biased.

I am biased.

You are biased when a person walks into the room, we have built in beliefs because of what society has told us.

And so we haven't really seen a woman in the United States in that position before.

And so it's actually hard for us to imagine in some ways.

So we have to break through these bears.

But I believe if we have more women in state houses, more female governors, more women on the hill, you are going to see a female in the White House in my lifetime, Linda, you should run.

No, no, no.

No, I'm a new grandmother and I love my job at Pivotal and my job at the foundation.

So, no, thank you.

Before French Gates assumed the titles of grandmother and mother or CEO and founder.

She started her career in tech in her teens after she learned how to code.

When her father bought her an Apple three computer.

Are you so clearly very passionate about these issues?

Pivotal ventures and the work you're doing here growing up?

Did you see yourself doing this?

No, no, no, no, you can't.

You can't really imagine.

You think you can imagine what you're going to be when you grow up.

But you really can't.

I certainly wanted to be a female business leader.

I grew up in Dallas and I would watch back to back Dallas and dynasty and I was like, I don't really want to be like those women who dress up for dinner like OK, that's nice.

But I was like, oh, that character Alexa Carrington, she was a powerful businesswoman, Steven.

You don't get rich if you don't take chances.

I was like, I wanna be like her after graduating from Duke University.

French Gates joined Microsoft in its infancy as one of only a few female managers.

Although she stayed at the company for nine years, she initially disliked Microsoft's culture and how it influenced her leadership development.

How did this culture in the early eighties when you were at Microsoft?

How did that shape your view on leadership.

It shaped it profoundly.

Actually, I had a great career there.

I loved the hard charging pace.

I love that we were changing society.

We knew we were changing the world.

But when I got to Microsoft, there was a leadership style that was very debate oriented, just constantly debate and rough and tumble.

And I almost left because I didn't actually like who I was becoming outside of work.

Like I could play the game.

I knew how to play the game.

I knew how to run the meeting.

But then I just said, wait a minute, is this who I want to be?

And it wasn't.

And so luckily I had other offers, you know, from consulting firms.

I was like, I can go get another job.

I'll just try being myself, but I thought I would fall flat on my face.

But it turned out that by being myself and, and having a different type of leadership, I could attract all kind of talent around the company who didn't want to have that rough and tumble culture.

The bro culture, French Gates is referring to is still rampant in the tech industry.

According to a 2021 survey by trust radius, 72% of women in tech report experiencing a prevalent bro culture at work signifying gender discrimination.

Why are we still talking about this in 2024?

Because there is a bro culture at work.

And I think you get these industries where when over time they become very male dominated, then the guys expect that everybody is going to act the way they act.

And when they don't see somebody leading or acting the way they are there, there's pushback and they won't be readily accepting of women or women's leadership styles to the young female executive in tech, experiencing this culture.

Still, what's your advice to them?

Surround yourself with other good men who have your values and other good women and ask the women and the men not just for mentorship, but when something comes up at the table, the undercut the slight, the repeating your ideas.

If it's their own, ask someone to speak up, it doesn't have to be in a harsh way.

But we have to point out these biases when they happen around the table and make it so that it's not a OK.

But the hard charging bro culture didn't stop Microsoft from becoming a financial juggernaut.

By 1996 the company reported $8.7 billion in revenue.

That same year, French Gates left Microsoft to focus on growing her family and philanthropic work.

I never ever could have imagined that I would be at the nexus of this wealth that had been amassed from Microsoft and Warren Buffett's wealth from Berkshire Hathaway and that I would be part of figuring out how to give that back to society in a very strategic way.

How have you been shaped by Warren Buffett and his views on leadership and, and even life when both Bill and I were struggling with my gosh, we're getting all these letters amazing causes a child who has cancer, et cetera.

He would say, pick your bull's eye, pick your target and your bull's eye and work in that, in your circle of competence and get good at it.

And he said, then you won't feel so bad about the pieces that you let fall away.

Since 2006, Buffett has donated more than $36 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation helping the institution give away 77.6 billion dollars and grants since its inception.

And in 2022 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ranked number one among the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, giving $7 billion in charitable support more than the Lilly Endowment, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Ford Foundation and Walton Family Foundation combined.

He saw in the early days of the foundation that I was struggling that I had a child at that point.

And I was sitting on the floor playing with my Jen who is now 27.

And he said to me, I know what you're doing at the foundation and I respect it greatly.

He said, and this is your most important job.

And to have a man say that to me, to give me permission to be a great mom because I think almost every woman I know I struggled with.

How much do I work?

Am I there for the kids?

How do I do this?

How do I do that?

Um That was huge after 27 years of marriage in 2021 Melinda and Bill announced their split in a joint statement on X saying they quote, we continue our work together at the foundation but no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.

I mean, how is like leading at the foundation when you're in that room and you have to make tough decisions with Bill in the room.

So one thing I would say about the foundation is it is a beautiful piece of glue in our lives and has been for a long time.

And so people didn't realize that we were even running the foundation when we were having difficult times in the marriage.

And I would say at times it held us together, we were even running the foundation as we were negotiating a divorce behind the scenes that nobody knew about.

And somehow we were both able to rise to our higher selves to at least run the foundation, not always in the specifics of various things at home, but in that piece.

So I think we've both kept that principle as we've made this transition.

And I would say, Mark Suzman, the CEO has been remarkable about changing the decision making because we're not making decisions at home together as much anymore.

And I would say, you know, we both show up and try to be our best selves.

I wouldn't say we achieve it every day, but I can sit there and even if there's something that agitates me or makes me a little upset, I can say this is not the time for me to work through that emotion at this table.

Let me wait till I get back home by myself.

Do you still show up your authentic leadership self?

Definitely, definitely.

No, I wouldn't, I won't show up unless I can be my authentic self.

And in fact, I would say I have become even more, more and more my authentic self.

The last five years there, French Gates will leave the foundation armed with $12.5 billion to use toward her philanthropic work.

As French Gates looks ahead to the next chapter of her career investing in social responsibility that yields a financial return is at the forefront of pivotal ventures, I think getting society, right?

So that it reflects all of who we are, will help all of us get to be and work in society the way we want to and to ultimately thrive.

These are new ideas for society and not everybody's for them, right?

Some people think, well, I'm, I'm gonna lose something if women or people of color come up, actually not true, but they will push back on those ideas.

What do you think your leadership legacy will be?

I think it will be that I helped further others, women and people of color in lots of different sectors so that people can see that these change makers, that a group coming together can change society and that we can see women and people of color at all levels um of industry.

So that, you know, when young girls look up just like young boys, they see these people who look like them.