Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates has announced that she will donate $1 billion over the next two years to women’s causes, organisations fighting for gender and reproductive rights in the US.
In a publication by New York Times on Tuesday, French Gates said she felt “compelled” to support US abortion rights following the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade case.
French Gates said she chose the first grant recipients working in the US to “protect the rights of women and advance their power and influence”.
“When we allow this cause to go so chronically underfunded, we all pay the cost,” she wrote in the New York Times.
“For too long, lack of money has forced organisations fighting for women’s rights into a defensive posture while the enemies of progress play offence. I want to help even the match.
“As shocking as it is to contemplate, my 1-year-old granddaughter may grow up with fewer rights than I had”.
French Gates also expressed her disappointment with those saying it is “not the right time” to speak about gender equality.
“It’s frustrating and shortsighted. Decades of research on economics, well-being and governance make it clear that investing in women and girls benefits everyone,” she wrote.
National Women’s Law Center, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Center for Reproductive Rights are some of the US- based organizations set to receive the grants.
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