Melinda French Gates to donate $1B over next 2 years in support of women's rights

abcnews.go.com:

Melinda French Gates says she will be donating $1 billion over the next two years to individuals and organizations working on behalf of women and families globally, including on reproductive rights in the United States

Melinda French Gates says she will be donating $1 billion over the next two years to individuals and organizations working on behalf of women and families globally, including on reproductive rights in the United States.

French Gates earlier this month announced she would step down from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and vowed to focus on women and families.

French Gates, one of the biggest philanthropic supporters of gender equity in the U.S., said Tuesday in a guest essay for The New York Times that she's been frustrated over the years by people who say it's not the right time to talk about gender equality.

«Decades of research on economics, well-being and governance make it clear that investing in women and girls benefits everyone,» she wrote.

French Gates touched upon the high maternal mortality rates in the U.S., noting that Black and Native American mothers are at the highest risk.

“Women in 14 states have lost the right to terminate a pregnancy under almost any circumstances. We remain the only advanced economy without any form of national paid family leave. And the number of teenage girls experiencing suicidal thoughts and persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness is at a decade high,” she said.

French Gates said over the last few weeks she's started directing new grants through her organization, Pivotal Ventures, to groups working in the U.S. to protect women's rights and advance their power and influence. The groups include the National Women’s Law Center, the National Domestic