‘ALL THE
FOR M S
OF SEXISM.’
Emma González survived the 2018 mass shooting
that killed 17 students and staff at her Florida
high school. She is an activist and co-founder of
the March for Our Lives movement.
“Probably harassment and discrimination, includ-
ing verbal abuse and sexual abuse, in the workplace
and in the home. Just all the forms of sexism that are
used to demean and oppress women.”30%
of the nations
reviewed for the
World Bank’s Women,
Business and the Law
2019 index instituted
no reforms to advance
gender equality
between 2008 and- Of 187 countries,
131 enacted reforms
to further gender
equality, 54 did
not—and two,
Uzbekistan and Bah-
rain, made changes
that increased
gender inequality.
In so many developing
countries, women have
no freedom. In poor
communities families
tend to provide money
to educate boys over
girls. In many cultures
women have no access
to family planning,
have numerous chil-
dren, and are solely
responsible for their
care. For these reasons
not only women but
children—and thus our
future—will suffer.THE PRIMATOLOGIST,
WHO DID PIONEERING
WORK AS A NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC GRANT-
EE, LEADS AN INSTI-
TUTE THAT PROMOTES
CONSERVATION AND
EDUCATION.
There isn’t a country
on Earth where women
have achieved true
equality, and the bar-
riers they face look
different in different
places. But no matter
where you are in the
world, understanding
these barriers is the
first step to disman-
tling them—and that
requires making a con-
certed effort to gather
better data about
women and their lives.
We don’t have reliable
information about how
many girls are going
to school, how manywomen have the chance
to earn an income, what
their health and safety
looks like, and whether
they’re dying prevent-
able deaths. And
without that data, we
can’t design effective
policies or interven-
tions to meet women’s
needs. Data is power.SHE CO-FOUNDED THE
BILL & MELINDA GATES
FOUNDATION, WHICH
SUPPORTS EFFORTS TO
REDUCE INEQUALITY,
POVERTY, AND OTHER
GLOBAL ILLS.
MELINDA
GATES
JANE
GOODALL
My interest in Afghani-
stan, specifically in the
lives of Afghan women,
showed me that there
are serious challenges
in some parts of the
world for women just
to live safe lives. But I
also think that in many
parts of the world—and
certainly in the United
States—it’s a wonderful
time for women. When
George was president,
I looked at the statis-
tics of girls versus boys
in the United States
and realized that boys
needed some atten-
tion too. We had
focused so much on
girls, and girls had
become more success-
ful than many boys in
school. We expected
more from boys in a
way, without giving
them the sort of nur-
turing that we did girls.
So it’s important that,
while we continue to
support women at
home and around the
world, we pay atten-
tion to boys too.AS FIRST LADY OF
THE UNITED STATES
DURING HER HUS-
BAND’S TWO TERMS
(2001-09), SHE WAS A
LITERACY ADVOCATE.
THROUGH THE
GEORGE W. BUSH
PRESIDENTIAL CEN-
TER, SHE NOW CHAIRS
A GLOBAL INITIATIVE
TO IMPROVE
WOMEN’S STATUS.
LAURA
BUSH
What Is the Most Important Challenge That Women
Q: Fa c e To d ay?
32 INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN EDITED FOR LENGTH AND CLARITY.