VOA新闻杂志2024--梅琳达·盖茨宣布将在未来2年内捐赠10亿美元支持女性力量

Melinda French Gates to Donate $1 Billion for Women’s Rights

Melinda French Gates announced this week that she plans to give $1 billion over the next two years to support women and families around the world.

French Gates is the former wife of Microsoft founder¹ Bill Gates.

Earlier in May, French Gates said she would step down from her position with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She said she wanted to center her work on helping² push forward women’s rights.

French Gates received $12 billion from Bill Gates for her philanthropy efforts.

Writing in The New York Times on Tuesday, French Gates said she is not happy with people who say it is not the right time to talk about gender³ equality.

“Decades of research on economics, well-being⁴ and governance make it clear that investing in women and girls benefits everyone,” she wrote.

In her statement, French Gates discussed the high death rates for Black and Native American women during childbirth in the United States.

She also criticized the reduced ability women have to end a pregnancy⁵ in some states, and the lack of national policy giving women time off from work after having a baby. She added that the number of teenage girls feeling hopeless and having thoughts of suicide is at its highest level in many years.

In the last few weeks, she said, she had already sent money to groups including the National Women’s Law Center, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The donations came from her organization Pivotal Ventures, which is organized as a private company. There is not much public information about how it invests and spends its money. French Gates said recent gifts, or grants, to activist⁶ groups, are not meant for specific projects but are for operating support.

In the past, the organization has spent money on projects related to several causes. They include closing what is often called the wage gap between men and women, supported women running for office and, what the Associated Press calls, “compensating care work often done by women.”

French Gates plans to introduce a $250 million plan in the fall that will center its energy on improving the mental and physical health of women and girls worldwide.

French Gates will be leaving the organization she founded with her ex-husband next week. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported public health projects worldwide.

The Associated Press reports that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will change its name to the Gates Foundation. It is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world with an estimated value of $75 billion.

Words in This Story

philanthropy –n. the activity of giving money to causes that are supposed to help people

gender –n. the condition of being male or female

decade –n. a period of 10 years

wage –n. pay for work that is based on the amount of time that is worked

gap –n. a difference between to values or things that are being compared

compensate⁷ –v. to provide something of value in exchange for something that was lost or damage that was suffered

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

5 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。