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Melinda Gates

Co-Chair & Founder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

As one of the most powerful women in the world, Melinda Gates has been vocal about her desire to increase the amount of opportunities and access afforded to other women. On Wednesday, the philanthropist and co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that she will be committing $1 billion over the next 10 years “to expanding women’s power and influence in the United States.”

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​Gates emphasized that through her company, Pivotal Ventures, she will put resources behind companies and organizations that are “taking innovative and diverse approaches to expanding women’s power and influence.” She writes that her funds will focus on three key priorities, including tearing down the barriers women face advancing professionally, fast-tracking women into industries and professional sectors where they are typically outnumbered, and “mobilizing shareholders, consumers, and employees to amplify external pressure on companies and organizations in need of reform.” Gates’ $1 billion commitment to advancing women in the U.S. comes just one year after she announced a $170 million commitment to helping women increase their economic power.

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