????我的大部分時間都在為增進世界各地女性的權益而努力，因此，當我直到十五年前才發現自己對發展中國家的女性竟然知之甚少時，我感到非常吃驚。

????讀大學的時候，我知道了埃塞俄比亞的饑荒，因此，和所有人一樣，我也購買了一張《四海一家》（We Are the World）專輯。但我所做的事也僅限于此。在微軟擔任一個部門負責人時，我經常到貧窮的國家出差——但通常也只限于在市中心的寫字樓參加商業會議，根本沒有機會接觸到這些國家的現實情況。

????15年前，比爾和我成立了我們的基金會，這時我才開始意識到，不論在個人生活還是職業生涯中，我都錯過了許多。

????所以，我想鼓勵你去做我直到人生很晚的時候才開始做的事情：花時間了解世界各地女性的生活，并且在她們為自己爭取未來的過程中，盡自己的一份綿薄之力。

????如果你還需要更有說服力的理由，以下內容可以告訴你為什么應該加入到為女性爭取公平的斗爭中去。

????有利于公司發展

????在貧窮國家，女性權益是經濟發展的引擎。據近期上線的網站《打破天花板：全員參與報告》(No Ceilings: Full Participation Report)發布的報告，若埃及女性的就業率與男性持平，埃及的GDP將增長34%。順便說一句，在美國，這種情形可帶動GDP增長5%。報告還顯示，由于女性更注重孩子教育和健康等問題，因此她們將為未來的繁榮奠定基礎。這意味著，女性獲得權益可以為全世界的人類創造大量財富。有數十億的婦女和女孩的購買力仍有待挖掘。如果你想要一個成功的未來，你應該盡最大努力去創造這樣的未來——而這意味著賦予女性權益。

????你可以擴展技能

????女性權益是一個棘手的問題。直面其他人的痛苦可能讓人難以承受，但你同時也會看到她們的勇氣，這將深深觸動你的內心。為了產生影響，你需要進行戰略思考，這將為你帶來動力。例如，在幫助貧窮國家成千上萬女性獲得避孕用品的過程中，我必須考慮文化問題（我們在與數十個國家合作，每個國家都有獨特的歷史和語言）、物流挑戰（我們如何將產品送到與世隔絕的偏遠村莊里？）以及研發挑戰（我們需要降低激素類避孕藥的副作用，使其更易于女性使用）。我喜歡解決這些具有吸引力的管理挑戰。

????你可以獲得有價值的見解

????作為一名女性商業領導者，有時候你必須努力讓別人聽到你的聲音。全世界的女性，不論她們在生活中扮演著什么角色，實際上都在做著同樣的事情。據聯合國糧農組織進行的一項研究，如果女性獲得更多決策權，她們所在社區的狀況就會有所改善，她們的家庭就會變得更健康、更興旺。但社會總是忽視女性的知識和解決問題的能力。

????我是一個致力于女性發展問題的人，在我看來，正是女性的發展讓投資女性產生強大效果。投資女性，就是投資所有人。假如你逐漸開始采取行動，你很快就會發現，對女性的投資有益于你的思想，有益于你的靈魂，并且有益于你的事業。（財富中文網）

????梅琳達?蓋茨為比爾與梅琳達?蓋茨基金會聯合創始人。

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????審校：任文科

????Given that I spend most of my time working to empower women across the globe, I surprise myself when I remember that until 15 years ago I knew very little about women in developing countries.

????In college, I was aware of the famine in Ethiopia, and I bought the We Are the World album just like everybody else. But that was where my engagement ended. When I was running a division at Microsoft, I traveled to poor countries—but only for business meetings in office buildings downtown, far away from reality.

????But when Bill and I started our foundation 15 years ago, I began to realize how much I’d been missing—not just in my personal life, but also in my career.

????So, I want to encourage you to do what I only started to do later in my life: take time to learn about the lives of women around the world—and try to play a small part in their fight to create the future they deserve.

????If you still need a little more convincing, here are some additional reasons why you should join the fight for women equality

????It’s good for business

????Women’s empowerment is an engine for economic growth in poor countries. According to the No CeilingsFull Participation Report which recently launched, if Egyptian women were employed at the same rate as men that country’s GDP would climb by 34%. In the U.S., by the way, that figure is 5%. The same report shows that, since women prioritize things like education and health care for their children, they also build the foundations of a prosperous future. This means empowered women can generate a vast amount of wealth that people around the world would be able to spend. There are billions of women and girls with untapped purchasing power. If you want a successful future, then you need to be doing as much as you can to create it—and that means empowering women.

????You will expand your skill set

????Women’s empowerment is a tough nut to crack. Coming face-to-face with people’s suffering can be crushing, but it also brings you face-to-face with their courage, and that’s deeply inspiring. You’ll be motivated by the need to think strategically in order to make an impact. For example, in my work to help tens of millions of women in poor countries get access to contraceptives, I have to think about cultural problems (we’re working with dozens of countries, each with its own distinct history, language, etc.), logistical challenges (how do we get products to people who live in remote villages with no roads?), and even R&D challenges (we need to reduce the side effects of hormonal contraceptives so that they’re easier for women to use). It’s a fascinating management challenge that I love tackling.

????You will gain valuable insight

????As a female business leader sometimes you have to fight to make yourself heard. Women all over the world, no matter what their position in life, are doing the same thing. According to a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, when women have more power to make decisions, conditions in their communities improve, and their families are healthier and more prosperous. Yet society routinely ignores their knowledge and their ability to solve problems.

????From my perspective as someone who works in development, this is what makes investments in women so powerful. When you invest in women, you invest in the people who invest in everybody else. And if you gradually start to take action it won’t be long before you realize that investing in women is good for your mind, good for your soul, and good for your business.

????Melinda Gates is the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.