>>> First let me say public office is really
important to have more women and people of color in state legislatures, in local city
councils, and also at the federal level because when you get women and people of color in
these state houses, they make new policies for society. They change society. >> That is philanthropist Melinda French Gates. She's of course a cofounder of the bill and
Melinda Gates foundation. That foundation has given away more than $70
billion in grants. A long-time advocate for women and girls,
she is now focused on getting more women elected to public office. French Gates explains why in a recent op-ed,
quote, only one in three state legislatures in the U.S. Is a woman, and at the federal level it's
closer to one in four. There is evidence that women govern differently,
working more collaboratively across party lines and introducing legislation on issues
that have [6:48:54 AM] legislation on issues that have historically
gone unaddressed. I spoke with her about those efforts, also
her concerns with ai and life after her very public divorce with Bill Gates. >> So you start this op-ed in time writing
in 1976 Annabelle Clemente Brian ran on the slogan a woman's place is in the house and
the senate too. Why is so much of your effort and your money
going to getting more women elected? >> Well, because I believe women should have
their full power and influence in the United States, and in 2019 I made a billion dollars
commitment to ensure that really starts to happen more, with more momentum, and I'm just
seeing that we aren't there yet. Down, too often we have decisions being made
for women, not by women, and as she said and also as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, I believe
women should be every place that decisions are being made, and that's just -- [6:49:54 AM] being made, and that's just -- we're just
not there yet as a country. >> What's interesting about your effort is
you're really keenly focused on state legislatures, why? >> Well, I'm focused on making sure that women
have their rightful place at all levels of governing, but state legislators are particularly
important. There are 7,000 seats at the legislative level
at states. They control $2 trillion in resources, and
they make really important policies and laws that affect everyone in their state. So really focusing there where there's so
many seats, but also for those women who do want to go on and be in the halls of congress
it's a great training ground. >> Democrats and Republicans you want to help
across parties? >> Of course. We need our government to represent all of
us, and we have different points of view depending on what state you're in, depending on your
political leanings. So absolutely, both sides of the aisle. [6:50:54 AM] aisle. >> Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney
was quite blunt speaking in New York this week, here's what she said. >> What we've done in our politics is create
a situation where we're electing idiots. [ Laughter ]
[ Applause ] And so I don't look at it through the lens of like, you know, is this what I
should do or what I shouldn't do. I look at it through the lens of how do we
elect serious people, and I think electing serious people can't be partisan. >> I'm wondering if you agree, if you think
that electing more women helps solve that problem? >> I think we need to make sure that everyone
in this country's voice is represented, so whether that's a female, whether that's a
male. We have to realize we just aren't there yet. One this three state legislators are women. One in four are women in congress, and yet,
we're 50% of the population. How can we have 16 million black [6:51:54 AM] How can we have 16 million black women in
this country but zero black senators? So we know that point of view isn't being
represented, and we need to do more to make sure that women are represented. >> I obviously couldn't help notice you wrote
this, this was published really at the one-year mark of roe versus wade being overturned. Was that a coincidence? >> Not at all a coincidence. I mean to have a law on the books for almost
50 years around women's reproductive rights and then have it rolled back, and when you
really go and talk to and do the research about what do Americans believe, they believe
that law should be in place. So to me it was a decision, again, where a
decision made for women, not by women. We should never roll back a law like that
that has to do with women's health. That's a very private, hard, emotional decision. The government shouldn't be involved and hasn't
been involved in 50 years, so why would we change that? [6:52:55 AM] would we change that? >> This reminded me of something you said
a long time ago when I spoke to you. You said that your mother taught you set your
own agenda or someone else will. Does all of this really stem from that, set
your own agenda or someone else will. >> Yes, because the agenda being set by the
United States is being set by a group of people that doesn't represent all of us, and what
we know is that women when they come into halls of power, they introduce new pieces
of legislation that have historically not been there because they have a different lens
on society, and so this is about making sure we set the agenda for all the American people. Our democracy should represent us, and it
does not today. >> So in all of my years of interviewing you,
you have never endorsed publicly, am I right, a candidate? >> I think that's right. >> Does this -- does that change now, Melinda? >> No, I have given personal resources and
continue to give [6:53:59 AM] resources and continue to give personal resources
to many candidates on both sides of the aisle, but I don't endorse a specific person. >> Can I ask you why, if you're really putting
a lot more money and energy behind politics and getting women elected and behind causes
that you're passionate about, roe versus wade being overturned as an example, why not publicly
endorse if there are candidates in this next cycle that you think are necessary in office? >> Because I vote in any election on both
sides of the aisle. Sometimes I vote Republican, sometimes democratic,
I'm a very independent voter, and I don't want to be pegged as one or the other. I think that the best policy is made when
we reach across the aisle, and so I think if I come out for a particular candidate,
they're going to say, oh, she always supports Republicans or she always supports a Democrat,
and that's just not true. >> So many people are focused on artificial
intelligence now, and you've been warning for years not just about what is ahead with
ai but about bias built into ai, and you've equated it to the bias built into the constitution,
right? Who was the constitution written [6:54:59 AM] Who was the constitution written by. How nervous are you that that could be playing
out again when it comes to ai? >> I'm very nervous because we don't have
enough women, again, who are computer scientists and who have can expertise in artificial intelligence,
and without that, we will bake bias into the system. Again, the system needs to take all people's
points of view and see society and quite frankly, see the world writ large as it is. When you have women at any of these places,
when you're creating something, when you're making this decision, when you're setting
a law, you're bringing that perspective of society that is just so vitally important. >> You have, Melinda, described this moment
in your life as incredibly joyful. So many people in America and around the world
have gone through painful divorces. Can you talk about a little bit about your
journey in finding this joy? >> I think, you know, you have to look for
it every day. [6:56:00 AM] to look for it every day. Even when you go through a painful time, which
I did for several years, you gather these moments of joy during the day and then you
reflect on them at the end of the week. And so I happen to be in a situation now in
life where I have a granddaughter. My three children are out of the house now,
and so I just really surround myself with family and friends who bring me a lot of energy
and joy so when I do go out in the world and do this kind of work or I travel to places
that are very difficult, I can lean into that joy and lean into that network of family and
friends that support us. >> I think, poppy, we talked about this a
little yesterday after the interview and I'll acknowledge candidly I went back and was watching
the feed in our system just because I was very interested in the actual interview itself,
but you mentioned it yesterday, and I want to follow up on it because your perspective
on the non-endorsements, particularly when you take a very straightforward line on roe
versus wade, and I've seen a lot of people with a lot of money in politics try and strike
this [6:57:02 AM] politics try and strike this middle ground
and within a year or two, their grand efforts have completely faded away. What was your --
>> Why doesn't she endorse? I think you heard her say there because she's
not just a Democrat, not just a Republican, she's an independent, but you could still
endorse certain candidates. I think she doesn't want to alienate people. I think she believes that she can make change
without publicly saying who, not just with money but with resources, with the writing
that she does. But it was really interesting. It's just been fascinating over the last decade
to watch her evolution in terms of such supportive women and girls as you heard the timing of
this was not a coincidence at all. I think you're going to see and hear a lot
more from Melinda Gates on this front. Maybe one day she will endorse.
