I won't proclaim to know a lot about the Gates family. Besides knowing that Bill Gates owned Microsoft (I think) before reading this book I wouldn't have been able to tell you much else except maybe the conspiracy theories surrounding the Covid jab but even then that was all conjecture. What I know now after reading The Moment of Lift is that the Gates family seem like pretty alright people.

Okay, so the book is hardly subjective being written by Melinda Gates and therefore being her perspective and highlighting the positives but if we look at the positives as a whole then the work that she does to help people seems pretty great. Educating girls about how to keep themselves safe, how to deliver babies safely in underprivilieged countries. Encouraging young women to get into STEM - on paper it all sounds wonderful.

Even if it turns out that all the conspiracy theories are true the things that you can take from this book is that it is well written and that it does elevate you to think differently about other people and how we all could do with helping others. That is a message that really resonates.

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates is available now.

For more information regarding Melinda Gates (@melindagates) please visit her Twitter page.

For more information regarding Pan Macmillan (@panmacmillan) please visit www.panmacmillan.com.

This is basically a collection of the author's variety of thoughts about women related issues from gender equality, health, agriculture, violence, unpaid work, and so on. I was expecting more about how a philanthropy organization work but did not find many new information. Yet, maybe this is still a good primer for people who are new to the topic. I just wish it's less philosophical and the chapters are better organized. There are still some interesting points made e.g. empowering women vs. religions, including when she talked about how she balances her faith with her work.

I am an avid reader of feminist self-help and this book was great. As with any self-help there were parts that spoke to me and parts that didn't but overall it was an enlightening and empowering read.

You can tell that a lot of the content of the books comes from Gates' experience and that is what makes it even more interesting. I would recommend!

If you want to lift humanity, empower women. That’s the book in a nutshell. You’re welcome.

But seriously, it’s a decent read highlighting the ways women empowerment can better societies based on Melinda Gates experience as co-chair at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

There were parts of this book that I absorbed quickly and loved. It’s clear the foundation is doing some incredible work to make women’s lives better across the world and Melinda made many smart observations about the ways we all can contribute towards this. I loved her comments on equal partnerships and diversity, particularly “Diversity is the best way to defend equality. If people from diverse groups are not making decisions. The burdens and benefits of society will be divided unequally and unfairly.”

However there was a bit of white saviour vibes and she made a few references to being shocked at the circumstances of women outside of America which made me crinkle my nose. It also lacked a bit of depth for me on the autobiographical side. Maybe I’m too nosey but I don’t feel like I have walked away knowing much about Melinda and I’m not sure she was as open as she could have been. I wanted to read more about her experiences as a woman in a man’s world at Microsoft, but perhaps that’s a different kind of book!

Overall, I closed the book feeling I’d learned something new and it made me want to explore the foundation further and ways in which I can contribute. It’s also a nice reminder of just how awesome we women are!

I really enjoyed this. I found some of the content difficult to get on with. However the overall message is wonderful and I would recommend.

"All that's needed to lift women up is to stop pulling them down". Gates' manifesto is a personal, but thoroughly intersectional, reflection on the most pressing issues women face across the globe. Her book is fundamentally optimistic; it provides a platform for those organisations, policies and schemes that are catalysing change. Through these lenses, Gates is able to focus on the issues that persist and to explain the urgency with which they must be countered. As a reader, Gates sweeps you up in the moment of lift she seeks. In so doing, she encourages individuals to expand their perception of feminist work and to use their privilege to ensure all women are prioritised both on a personal level and on the global stage.

So she’s a wonderful philanthropist who’s really made a difference in the way that very few can or will. Yet she’s remained discreet, serious and thoughtful. This book shows we need many more Melinda Gates.

I'll be honest I knew Melinda Gates was philanthropic but I don't think I'd ever realized to the extent of it. The moment of lift is a fantastic book, the world Melinda Gates does to empower and lift woman around the globe is a true triumph and a book that everyone should read regardless of gender.

The Moment of Lift is an incredibly educational and poignant read that I'd recommend for all to read, more so, women. Melinda Gates has done incredible things for women in developing countries and this book is told in a humble, incredibly modest way and I'm so grateful to be able to read about progress like this and I am so glad and inspired by Melinda and all of her philanthropist work.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really impressed by this one. I heard a lot about it and was really excited to finally read it.
To me it was very inspirational because there is still so much we need to change in our society. We need to fight for equality even though there is a long way ahead of us. Eye opening and empowering!!

I loved this book.

Melinda covers an incredibly broad range of hard subjects (FGM, child marriage, inequality in the workplace and so many more) with an empathy and an understanding that you wouldn't necessarily expect from one of the richest women in the world.

This book will open your eyes to things you had never considered and inform you on subjects you already know something about. Melinda tells the stories of the women she meets with warmth and sensitivity, you can't help but be left thinking about what you could do to help. This is a must read.

It has been an honour to get selected by Pan Macmillan to read and review this book about women empowerment and how women lift each other up, written by the person who has spent most of her life studying and implementing just that – Melinda Gates.

Melinda Gates needs no introduction. Ranked as one of the most powerful woman in the world, Melinda Gates, she has also won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 for philanthropic works. Her reach to lift the women of Malawi, Niger, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mbuyuni in Tanzania, Jharkhand, Shivgarh in Uttar Pradesh, regions in Central India, Floyd County in Kentucky and many more have been noted and praised worldwide. She writes this book to document this journey and her insights on how we can change traditional, illogical practices in the disadvantages regions of developing economies.

Melinda does not stop at merely listing out problems: she makes a strong point about why the problem must be solved with empathy and not just by throwing money at people, the potential barriers to solving these age-old problems, what’s the best way to solve the problem completely and not give up halfway, what happens post solving one problem – does it lead to another or does it solve another problem as well?

To add a personal touch, Melinda also speaks about how she incorporated the values of equality within her home too. She started small, by encouraging Bill to drive the kids to school and thereby enlightening families in her hometown about the renewed role of husbands at home. She also speaks about her journey through Microsoft and the lessons learned and the impact she made.