#GAReads | Melinda Gates: Here's Why I'm Committing $1 Billion to Promote Gender Equality
“Melinda Gates: Here's Why I'm Committing $1 Billion to Promote Gender Equality”:
In 2018, there were more men named James running Fortune 500 companies than there were women. This year, only one CEO on that list of 500 is a woman of color. Women are 51 percent of the population but hold only 24 percent of the seats in Congress.
My reaction to facts like these is a complicated mix of outrage and optimism. I imagine I’m not alone. It’s frustrating — even heartbreaking — to confront evidence of the many ways our country continues to hold women back.
Then again, for most of our history, women’s absence from positions of power and influence wasn’t newsworthy; it was normal. The fact we’re now talking about these inequities is itself a sign of progress.