Health and Power ‘Deeply Connected for Women’: Melinda French Gates

This is important work. Women make half of the population. So why? Why is it taking so long, actually to focus on the impact this has on the economy and productivity, instead of just keeping it private? Well, I think in the past we expected women to just deal with these symptoms. But the truth is women's bodies are different than men. And so it's time we bring this into the fore so that women can live the full, productive lives and work as long as they want to work. It's just time. I mean, health care systems, of course, are supported by governments. So when you go to governments around the world, what do they tell you about how keenly they're looking at this? I mean, everybody knows research, but then you have to do something about it. Well, partly they are not looking at the research. I mean, this is why we did this poll as we were hearing it. So anecdotally for women and we're seeing women drop out of the workforce. And so we did this polling both in the US and in the UK to show what the data says, so that we can now get governments to focus on it more. What's the solution? I mean, I mean, there's no magic wand, but is it more research? Is it more access to health care or just, you know, starting by talking about it? Well, I think you have to look at all of those things. I think you have to start by talking about it. You have to have the data so you know where to point and what to work on. And then you've got to do the research. But if we even look at today, women going into the health system, one third of them are saying in this country that they're not being taken seriously, that there are issues, are being listened to. So we also it comes down to training, training, OB gyns, training, primary care doctors anywhere a woman touches the health system. These are the symptoms she's experiencing. And there are things we can do to help her. We first have to believe her though, and this is. And you know, it can be endometriosis, menopause and women issues that for so many years have been ignored. That's exactly right. And what we're learning is that women's bodies are in fact quite different than men's. And yet the research in the past has always looked at a women's body as a essentially a small version of a man's body, right? And that's not true. We're experiencing chronic illness at a higher rate. We have we are the half the population that goes through perimenopause and menopause. We are the ones who go through reproduction. So it is different. And we need to focus on these issues so we can make sure that women are supported at all stages of their lives. You gave me a wonderful interview talking about business and also women in the place of business. Why have you always focused on women's health when so many others haven't? Because women's health means when women have their health, they can do everything they want in their family, in society, and in working. If they want to work. But if we don't focus on their health, it can be an off ramp to their dreams. And I want women to be able to step into their full power. So health and power are deeply connected for women, and we haven't often looked at that. Do you see? I mean, again, and this is, I guess, societal reasons, but do you see a change at the margins or actually, it's a little bit depressing that you have to do research to show even the UK government what's going on. We are way behind on women's health across the world. My country is in the UK, isn't it? It shouldn't be. It's a bit because of, you know, who was in charge before, who was doing the research. But I'm saying basically now is the time we have got to, you know, put our foot on the pedal and say, this is important. So it's one of the reasons I'm coming out and highlighting it, and we need many people to highlight it. And then we also need to fund the research. And that often takes government to do it. I mean, there's also a workforce problem, right? I mean, before, you know, this country, the U.S. has always had a productivity problem. So actually, if you lose half of the women at 45, 50 years old, it's very difficult to replace those workers. Absolutely. And it's right as women are reaching the peak of their career. And so often women don't realize, okay, I might have just had my children if I've chosen to have children, but in my early 40s you start to hit these issues. And what we're finding is the chronic insomnia or the long term issues for their cardiac health. That means they are dropping out of the workforce. Or they're saying to us, I have to take days off to deal with this because I'm having to go to 4 or 5 doctors to get my symptoms looked at. That just isn't good, not only for their health, but also isn't good for our economies. Melinda, when you speak to a lot of government officials or ministers, they often say, well, I don't have the money. Like there's a fiscal constraint. It's difficult to to prevent, right. Instead of fixing once there is a problem, does our health care system need to change? First of all, they do have money. So it's a myth. They don't have money. It's about balancing and trading off priorities. And I think for so long we haven't prioritized women's health. And so absolutely any time you're looking at anyone's health, man or woman or child, you want to always start and do the prevention pieces. And then we also need to invest in the system so that we take bias out of the system. And we've got the right research so we can meet women's needs. How do you measure everything. Because actually if you can measure it then you can hold people account and then you get better at it. Measuring matters I'm so glad you brought this up. And so part of this polling is to say this is where we are today, at least in these two high income countries, the US and the UK. Let's come back and measure this in 4 or 5 years and see, are women saying, hey, I can now find the treatments today, 20%, just a little, slightly over 20% of UK women are saying, I may understand the symptoms, but I'm not finding the treatment. Right. So let's come back and measure this in five years and see have we made progress? Now if you look at some of the big private companies right, they're often stepping in to try and support their employees. How did you look at that partnership between government and private? I think it takes everybody. So I think it takes government, private sector philanthropy that can help put in some dollars as well. And civil society to say this is needed. What I like about the private sector, when they're doing it right is they're starting to finally recognize we need to look at this and let women take the time off. They need to get their symptoms treated or to treat it seriously. But it takes all of us working together. Is the U.S. going backwards on these issues? Well, I would say it depends on the issue in terms of women's health. But, you know, to see a law for women's reproductive health taken off the books in the last couple of years, yes, that means we're going backwards. And we should never go backwards on women's health. You've donated a lot also to women, health and women's issues in Africa. Yes. What's the one thing you learned from that? The one thing I've learned is that when women can time and space the birth of their children, and when they can lead the healthy lives they want, they flourish and everyone around them flourishes. Is it? I mean, I wouldn't say easier, but it is when you look at maternal health, right? It's a moment in time and so is it easier to fix. And if you look at the health of a woman throughout her lifetime, we should never look at just one part. And this is what the world has made the mistake of doing. In the past, we've looked at women's reproductive years and their maternal years, should they choose to have a child. But guess what? A woman lives a holistic life, and we've asked these symptoms later in life to just be invisible. Just deal with it. Well guess what? Women are living longer, and these are having profound effects on her cardiovascular system. We're starting to realize on dementia. So we need to look at a woman in her holistic life and make sure we tended this part of her life, too. Is there a world leader or a country that does it right? It's a demographic problem right there. Just not enough children in Europe or in many developed countries. To to be able to sustain our systems, which is why you probably need women as as healthy as possible as well. You need women as healthy as possible so they can live their full, productive lives, and then they do contribute to the economy. I would not say there's a country right now that is that I would hold up as best in class in this. I would say though, it is time. It is time we look at this issue because if we want women to stay in the workforce and they're saying to us, they want to, we need to help focus on this part of their health, too. Melinda, I want to talk to you a little bit about leadership, because a lot of our viewers care deeply about issues, and then sometimes they get a bit demoralized because it's not moving quickly enough, because we go backwards in those times. Like, what do you think about what keeps you going? I say, what can I do? What can? If there are fewer, what can they do? Can you use your voice to speak out to government? You can decide you're going to volunteer somewhere where you learn more about the issues or you contribute. In my case, I try to give more to research because we haven't done enough money, enough on women's research, right, in terms of their health. So I think there's always something you can contribute to. And I say start in your own backyard, because that's where you can really learn about the issues going on in your community. I know you've talked about building a network also so that you understand and help each other and support each other when things are tough. Absolutely. I have an amazing female network. I also submitted that network, but female network so that let's say I'm having a day that's not that's tricky for me. I'm sure you have tricky days too, right? We all have. We all do. Who can I turn to and lean on and say, this has been hard, you know, with my my child or now my adult child or this has been hard and work somebody, you know said something to me that was just awful. Women talk about facing in our country 10,000 papercuts over the course of their lifetime. Just for being a woman. And so we do need female friends especially. And the health care actually is really important. In the past, there was also a stigma in certain countries that you didn't really talk about your health issues. Absolutely. There's still that stigma. There's still stigma, even women. This is what I do like about it. Part of the reason, look, I'm now over 60, right? Part of the reason I'm talking about this, and I'm seeing more people in the UK talk about it. Women around the world talk about it. We need to lead and show. It's important because in the past menopause was something that was considered, you know, oh, taboo, don't talk about that and just expect her to go through it. No, we go through it. Let's make sure we focus on it. Yeah. I feel like we've been lucky because there are Hollywood actresses actually that tackled it. That makes a real difference in people's thinking in people's minds. Absolutely. And when you start to see it showing up in the news more, you start to see it showing up on podcasts. Even in shows, we're starting to see women talk about, you say, oh, this is real. Yes, all women go through this. Let's invest in it though now.