Notes

how empowering women changes the world
Melinda Gates.
273 pages.
Contents: The lift of a great idea -- Empowering mothers: maternal and newborn health -- Every good thing: family planning -- Lifting their eyes: girls in schools -- The silent inequality: unpaid work -- When a girl has no voice: child marriage -- Seeing gender bias: women in agriculture -- Creating a new culture: women in the workplace -- Let your heart break: the lift of coming together.
Summary: For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: if you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she's learned from the inspiring people she's met during her work and travels around the world. 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 provides an unforgettable narrative 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. Writing with emotion, candour and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another. When we lift others up, they lift us up too.