Moment of Lift

'We need this message more than ever' – Malala Yousafzai

The Sunday Times bestseller.

Hard-hitting and uplifting true stories of the women around the world facing extreme gender inequality who, when the wider community supports them to challenge the status quo, improve life for the whole of society. The Moment of Lift is a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment.

The right to: Spend your own money. Go to school. Earn an income. Access contraceptives. Work outside the home. Walk outside the home. Choose whom to marry. Get a loan. Start a business. Own property. Divorce a husband. See a doctor. Drive a car. All of these rights are denied to women in some parts of the world.

'How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings – and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity.'

In this moving and compelling book, Melinda French Gates shares the stories of the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world and the lessons she’s learned from them. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book – to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.”

Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention – from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world – and ourselves.

When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.

Melinda French Gates, author of The Moment of Lift is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls.

For over twenty five years, Melinda has led efforts to unlock a healthier, more prosperous, more equal future. Today, she heads Pivotal, an organization she formed in 2015 that works to accelerate the pace of progress and advance women’s power and influence in the U.S. and around the world. Previously, she founded and co-chaired the Gates Foundation, where, for more than two decades, she set the direction and priorities of the world’s largest philanthropy. Melinda is the creator of Moment of Lift Books, an imprint publishing original nonfiction by visionaries working to unlock a more equal world.

Melinda grew up in Dallas, Texas and attended Duke University, where she received a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics and an MBA. She spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before leaving the company to focus on her family and philanthropic work. Melinda has three children – Jenn, Rory and Phoebe – and lives in Seattle, Washington.