“The Moment of Lift is an urgent call to courage. It changed how I think about myself, my family, my work, and what’s possible in the world. Melinda weaves together vulnerable, brave storytelling and compelling data to make this one of those rare books that you carry in your heart and mind long after the last page.”
—Brené Brown, Ph.D., author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Dare to Lead
“Melinda Gates has spent many years working with women around the world. This book is an urgent manifesto for an equal society where women are valued and recognized in all spheres of life. Most of all, it is a call for unity, inclusion and connection. We need this message more than ever.”—Malala Yousafzai
“Melinda Gates’s book is a lesson in listening. A powerful, poignant, and ultimately humble call to arms.” — Tara Westover, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller EDUCATED
A debut from Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women’s empowerment.
“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.”
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’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.
Writing with emotion, candor, 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.
About the Author
Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private foundation in the world, Melinda Gates has dedicated her life to achieving transformational improvements in the health and prosperity of families, communities, and societies. Core to her work is empowering women and girls to help them realize their full potential. In 2015, Melinda created Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company that enables her to bring together other new and emerging strands of her advocacy and philanthropic work focused in the US. Melinda received a bachelor’s degree from Duke and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School. After joining Microsoft Corp. in 1987, she helped develop many of the company’s multimedia products. In 1996, Melinda left Microsoft to focus on her philanthropic work and family.
Praise For…
“An inspirational look at the need to empower women to make change in the world.” —The Washington Post
“[The Moment of Lift] is a moral appeal, imploring each of us who reads it to look around — at our own families, our own workplaces, our own place in a gigantic, but highly connected, world — and get to work making it more equal.” – Chicago Tribune
“At a time when beneficial globalization is being threatened by nationalism, and women’s rights are in danger of being rolled back to nineteenth-century norms, Gates offers urgent reminders of why it’s necessary to help women everywhere achieve their full potential.”—Booklist, starred review
“Part memoir, part call to action, Gates’s compassionate narrative underscores her determination to leave a positive mark on this world. She inspires and emboldens in this eloquently argued work.”—Publishers Weekly
“This book is a beautiful and concise mission statement on what we need to do to move society forward–continue to empower women. At every level and in all places women are truly the bedrock supporting their communities.”—Trevor Noah
“Melinda Gates uplifts and inspires by weaving a narrative of fortitude and hope. She pushes us to challenge the status quo and never settle.” —Mellody Hobson
“The Moment of Lift is a gift to humanity. With concrete stories and examples, Melinda Gates helps us see and embrace the great truths – “The goal is for everyone to be connected. The goal is for everyone to belong. The goal is for everyone to be loved.” Melinda’s message is so real, so personal, so intelligent, so needed. If only everyone would read it and know it, we would all rise up together!” –Richard Rohr
“The Moment of Lift is a book about gender equity and its golden thread is empathy. This book lifts up the voices of women and girls whose experiences have been entirely unlike Melinda’s own. They’ve taught her a great deal, and in this beautifully crafted and artful memoir, Melinda Gates invites the reader to learn from them too.” —Paul Farmer, M.D., co-founder of Partners In Health
“I think this is one of the best books I’ve ever read.” — Warren Buffett
