Women’s Economic Power
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Directing resources towards women’s economic power and health lays the foundation for long-term resilience, inclusive growth, and improved well-being for individuals and communities worldwide. Select a page to learn more about our work towards achieving women's economic power for all.
Economic empowerment is not enough. Women need economic power.
Lessons learned from a career fighting for gender equality.
Women Change the Game
The WTA Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are teaming up to mobilize greater resources, visibility, and leadership for women’s health and nutrition worldwide.
Wave of New Commitments Marks Historic Step Towards the Elimination of Cervical Cancer
New country, policy and program commitments, plus nearly US$600 million in new funding, at first-ever global forum offer a chance to save hundreds of thousands of lives by 2030.
Melinda French Gates on how leaders can boost women’s economic power
The case for doing so has never been stronger, argues the philanthropist.
Global Alliance for Women’s Health
It’s proven: Closing the women’s health gap will allow more women to live healthier, higher-quality lives and boost the global economy by US$1 trillion—every year. Learn more from the Global Alliance for Women’s Health to reshape the future of women’s health.
What does Women’s Economic Power mean?
Why we must go beyond empowerment programs and build economic systems that work for women.
Illuminating opportunities: Data on untapped potential
Employment
26%
Estimated GDP increase by adding more women to the workforce
(2022, Closing the Gender Gap in the Workforce, Council on Foreign Relations)
(2022, Closing the Gender Gap in the Workforce, Council on Foreign Relations)
Pay gap
24%
Global pay gap faced by women compared to men across the health and care sector
(2022, The Gender Gap in Pay, World Health Organization)
(2022, The Gender Gap in Pay, World Health Organization)
Credit
$1.7T
Estimated amount of unmet demand for credit among women (in USD)
(2022, How to measure female entrepreneurship?, The World Bank)
(2022, How to measure female entrepreneurship?, The World Bank)
Digital payments
80M
Number of unbanked women in developing countries receiving government transfers in cash
(2019, Banking on the future of women, IMF)
(2019, Banking on the future of women, IMF)
Investment
6x
Amount of capital investment received by male-owned enterprises in Africa compared to female-owned enterprises
(2019, Profiting from Parity, The World Bank)
(2019, Profiting from Parity, The World Bank)
Child care
300M
Possible jobs generated by investing in universal child care and long-term services
(2022, Care at work, ILO)
(2022, Care at work, ILO)
Policy and law
86
Number of countries where women cannot legally do the same jobs as men
(2022, Nearly 2.4 Billion Women Globally, The World Bank)
(2022, Nearly 2.4 Billion Women Globally, The World Bank)
Commitment
$80M
Investment from our foundation in 2016 to help fill some of these critical gender data gaps
More on women’s financial inclusion
A story of digital banking in India—and a young woman’s promising career path
Digital banking lets millions of people safely receive, send, and save money without the need for cash. One young woman in India explains how this is helping her community.
Banking on the future of women
Poverty is not a single fact or condition, but rather a collection of them: a lack of financial assets, a lack of access to property, and a lack of voice in one's community.
Financial independence through last mile service delivery
Ram Bhatari, a recipient of the India Post Payments Bank’s door to door banking effort, tells her story about her pension with digital tools.
More on child care
Investing in affordable child care: good for families, children, and economic impact
Affordable child care can lead to millions of jobs for women, leading to a major economic impact. Learn more about the opportunity here.
Governments build roads and bridges. Why is another essential piece of infrastructure, child care, built on women’s unpaid labor?
The pandemic has been devastating to women’s employment. Unless governments and the private sector start to think of child care as essential infrastructure, post-pandemic recovery plans will falter.
Women on philanthropy’s front lines: A conversation with Melanie Brown and Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s funds have long been on the front lines of addressing persistent societal injustices. They need our support to address the harms suffered by women during the COVID-19 pandemic—from lost jobs to domestic violence.
More on women’s economic power
Melinda French Gates highlights five women inspiring change in their communities in Rwanda and Senegal
The global advocate for women and girls shares the stories of some extraordinary women whose vision and ingenuity are creating new possibilities for their countries and industries.
Want to grow your economy? Focus on women.
Two recent graduates in Senegal had a great idea for a business. Because they were women, banks and investors kept saying “no.”
Poverty is sexist: A Q&A with new Gender Equality Division President Anita Zaidi
New Gender Equality Division President Anita Zaidi discusses the newly created division and what it means for the foundation.
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