The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

Melinda Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, wife to one of the most influential men and a mother of three, writes a very subtle yet impactful book that breaks down the philosophy of empowerment to the microscopic level of our understanding. The title of the book is a clear analogy between the space launches that she witnessed as a child to the direct elevation of the people, especially women across the world. Melinda chooses a very direct approach to citing the general issues faced by the women with her own life. She describes struggles and resolutions in her own marriage about voicing her opinion, family planning, taking a step back from her career during pregnancy, and taking care of the children alongside a full-fledged profession. Her humble writings at every stage in the book make it clear to the readers about the connection she made with the women while working with them and for them in the far-off lands. She highly relates to their problems as her own.

Having said that, she delves deep into the issue of family planning, narrating how it robs women physically, mentally, financially and emotionally. She includes several stories of the women and girls she met in Africa and India who have had rough times and even lost their lives to this grave problem. Melinda talks about the dominance of the male counterpart and also provides solutions in bringing them to terms with the women for an appropriate momentum. Besides, she describes in detail about other glitches around inequalities and gender bias persistent in the society at large. Unpaid work, sending girls to school, child marriages, and women’s role in agriculture are the subjects dealt with great insight with reference to the first-hand information concerning these issues mentioned in the book.

Throughout the book, the author talks about pulling people from the margins back to the mainstream. You can know of Melinda’s journey of becoming an ardent feminist which to her means ‘women and men working in together to take down the barriers and end the biases that still hold women back.’ You will encounter numerous episodes of Melinda’s life in this book that shall compel you to broaden your viewpoint about the subject and the author herself.

Written with utmost empathy and compassion, the book is a must-read for all the philanthropy lovers and otherwise.

Reviewe by: Nazneen Kachwala

“Malinda Gates has spent many years working with women around the world. This book is an urgent manifesto for equal society where women are valued and recognized in all aspects of life. Most of all, it is a call for unity, inclusion, and connection. We need this message more than ever”

– Malala Yousafzai