Bill Gates and Melinda Gates recently shared their decision to part ways after being married for 27 long years. The duo has been involved in philanthropic activities under the banner of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is one of the largest charitable foundations in the world and their divorce could have impacted various philanthropic activities across the globe. However, the couple has maintained that they will continue working together in their philanthropic activities. Even after the divorce with Microsoft co-founder and the former World’s Richest Man, Melinda will remain one of the wealthiest persons in the world and is expected to use it for her philanthropic works.
According to a CNN report, looking at Melinda’s work, the philanthropic world will continue to be impacted by her efforts. The report also points out the domains that could be key to her area of work.
Women Empowerment
Melinda has been very vocal about the disparity between men and women and has been working for women empowerment. She had launched her investment and incubation company Pivotal Ventures in 2015 to address the structural inequality between men and women. The company helps woman-focused efforts and encourages women to run for public office. Melinda also has been very vocal about access to contraceptives for women and termed it as the greatest anti-poverty tool in the world.
COVID-19 Vaccine
The spread of coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on millions of lives across the world and the only way its spread can be ended is by vaccinating people. Melinda has emphasized that everyone should get this vaccine and added that if we limit the vaccine only to high-income countries, the disease will bounce back. Melinda is expected to work for vaccination programmes in various parts of the world.
Mental Health
Melinda’sassociation with several mental health programmes suggests that she could focus and work in this domain in the coming years. In the past, she has been associated with initiatives like ‘Sound It Out’ and The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health,’ that was launched last year.
Paid Leaves
Melinda Gates Pivotal Ventures has been working with various US National campaigns for paid leaves. According to CNN, in 2016, she even invested more than $65 million in efforts to bring about a comprehensive federal paid leave policy. In 2019, she pointed out that the USA was the only country that did not have a government-funded paid family leave. The billionaire is also expected to work in this arena in the coming months and years.
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