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shailydc's review against another edition
5.0
A must read for all. I had to take breaks from listening a few times because many of the topics hit too close to home and it was overwhelming. In particular, the amount of time women spend doing unpaid work vs. men, something all too common in Indian homes even in America.
maddiebelloff's review
2.0
If you’ve never read any feminist theory/literature, this is a nice read. It just isn’t groundbreaking. Appreciated the personal anecdotes and stories but that’s not what this book is.
baileebee123's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
I read this book for a women's book club I have at work and it was a great choice for our group! I really enjoyed learning about Melinda's philanthropic work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and her experience as a woman in the corporate world and her stories about her own upbringing and family life.
This is not the best nonfiction book I've read, I think that there are better storytellers and audiobook narrators (by the way, the audiobook differed from the ebook in several instances. It was enough to be noticeable but not enough to change anything and in the ebook, she has an excellent letter written in August 2020 that is well worth the read) but I appreciate the stories she told and the messages she was working to get across. I think that the book could have been improved by segmenting the book a bit more as there are only nine chapters and some of those chapters are over an hour long. She was kind of heavy-handed with the title tie-in and I don't believe that was really necessary. I also think that it would have been nice to have an organized bibliography in the ebook (see "The Emperor of All Maladies as an example) because she does reference studies and it would be nice to have a direct link to them.
My book club thought that this might have benefited from being two books: one about her philanthropic work and one that was more a memoir on her own life because it sometimes felt strange to compare her privileged life as the wife of one of America's richest CEO's to the people she was helping with her foundation, but I liked the fact that she had both in the same book. It helped to appeal the book to a broader audience, and she definitely didn't downplay the lives of those she was helping. I believe that since sexism is a systemic thing, it should be addressed at all levels, because there are connections there and her chapter on unpaid work is an excellent example of this.
On the flip side, I really loved hearing about the impact of her work and how women and men were standing up for gender equity even before she had gotten involved. I liked listening to her describe her research process and how meeting people changed her worldview and the help that she was delivering from technological advances in seeds to radio talk shows about planting tomatoes, specifically targeted towards women. Her discussion about her struggle between her Catholic beliefs and faith in action made sense to me (though I don't really support the Catholic church) and was an interesting topic. I like how she pointed out that local practices needed to be respected at the same time that scientific advances were introduced. Her pointing out that male allies are essential actually made me stop and think for a minute, even though I've seen that be true in my own life. I can't believe we're having the same discussion about birth control in 2022 that we were in 1916. The chapters on girls' education, unpaid work, and workplace diversity were especially relatable and informative for me.
She had a couple of quotes that I made note of while reading:
At 25%: "Instead of acknowledging the role of contraceptives in reducing abortion, some opponents of contraception conflate it with abortion. The simple appeal of letting women choose whether or when to have children is so threatening that opponents strain to make it something else. And trying to make the contraceptive debate about abortion is very effective in sabotaging the conversation."
At 68%: "If they had the same resources, they would have the same yields."
At 83%: "Finally--and this shows the gender bias in our culture when it comes to who's considered for for a task--when software engineering was seen as more clerical in nature and much easier than the hardware side, managers hired and trained women to do the work. But when software programming came to be understood as less clerical and more complex, managers began to seek out men to train as computer programmers--instead of continuing to hire and train women."
At 85%: "A 2010 academic study on group intelligence found that the collective intelligence of a workgroup is correlated to three factors: the average social sensitivity of the group members, the group's ability to take turns contributing, and the proportion of females in the group. Groups that included at least one woman outperformed all-male groups in collective intelligence tests, and group intelligence was more strongly correlated to gender diversity than to the IQs of the individual team members."
At 87%: "Today in the US, we're sending out daughters into a workplace that was designed for their dads--set up on the assumption that employees had partners who would stay home to do the unpaid work of caring for family and tending to the house. Even back then it wasn't true for everyone. Today it is true for almost no one--except for one specific group. The most powerful positions in society are often occupied by men who do have wives who do not work outside the home. And those men may not fully understand the lives of the people who work for them."
At 96%: "Every society says its outsiders are the problem. But the outsiders are not the problem; the urge to create outsiders is the problem. Overcoming that urge is our greatest challenge and our greatest promise. It will take courage and insight, because the people we push to the margins are the ones who trigger in us the feelings we're afraid of."
I also have a couple more books on my tbr list: The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
I think that this book is an excellent spotlight on some of the amazing work that Melinda and her foundation have done. It showcases some organizations doing great things and talks about concepts of gender equity that are important for everyone to hear. I definitely recommend this book for the topics it covers and the information within, though with the few caveats I listed in the beginning.
This is not the best nonfiction book I've read, I think that there are better storytellers and audiobook narrators (by the way, the audiobook differed from the ebook in several instances. It was enough to be noticeable but not enough to change anything and in the ebook, she has an excellent letter written in August 2020 that is well worth the read) but I appreciate the stories she told and the messages she was working to get across. I think that the book could have been improved by segmenting the book a bit more as there are only nine chapters and some of those chapters are over an hour long. She was kind of heavy-handed with the title tie-in and I don't believe that was really necessary. I also think that it would have been nice to have an organized bibliography in the ebook (see "The Emperor of All Maladies as an example) because she does reference studies and it would be nice to have a direct link to them.
My book club thought that this might have benefited from being two books: one about her philanthropic work and one that was more a memoir on her own life because it sometimes felt strange to compare her privileged life as the wife of one of America's richest CEO's to the people she was helping with her foundation, but I liked the fact that she had both in the same book. It helped to appeal the book to a broader audience, and she definitely didn't downplay the lives of those she was helping. I believe that since sexism is a systemic thing, it should be addressed at all levels, because there are connections there and her chapter on unpaid work is an excellent example of this.
On the flip side, I really loved hearing about the impact of her work and how women and men were standing up for gender equity even before she had gotten involved. I liked listening to her describe her research process and how meeting people changed her worldview and the help that she was delivering from technological advances in seeds to radio talk shows about planting tomatoes, specifically targeted towards women. Her discussion about her struggle between her Catholic beliefs and faith in action made sense to me (though I don't really support the Catholic church) and was an interesting topic. I like how she pointed out that local practices needed to be respected at the same time that scientific advances were introduced. Her pointing out that male allies are essential actually made me stop and think for a minute, even though I've seen that be true in my own life. I can't believe we're having the same discussion about birth control in 2022 that we were in 1916. The chapters on girls' education, unpaid work, and workplace diversity were especially relatable and informative for me.
She had a couple of quotes that I made note of while reading:
At 25%: "Instead of acknowledging the role of contraceptives in reducing abortion, some opponents of contraception conflate it with abortion. The simple appeal of letting women choose whether or when to have children is so threatening that opponents strain to make it something else. And trying to make the contraceptive debate about abortion is very effective in sabotaging the conversation."
At 68%: "If they had the same resources, they would have the same yields."
At 83%: "Finally--and this shows the gender bias in our culture when it comes to who's considered for for a task--when software engineering was seen as more clerical in nature and much easier than the hardware side, managers hired and trained women to do the work. But when software programming came to be understood as less clerical and more complex, managers began to seek out men to train as computer programmers--instead of continuing to hire and train women."
At 85%: "A 2010 academic study on group intelligence found that the collective intelligence of a workgroup is correlated to three factors: the average social sensitivity of the group members, the group's ability to take turns contributing, and the proportion of females in the group. Groups that included at least one woman outperformed all-male groups in collective intelligence tests, and group intelligence was more strongly correlated to gender diversity than to the IQs of the individual team members."
At 87%: "Today in the US, we're sending out daughters into a workplace that was designed for their dads--set up on the assumption that employees had partners who would stay home to do the unpaid work of caring for family and tending to the house. Even back then it wasn't true for everyone. Today it is true for almost no one--except for one specific group. The most powerful positions in society are often occupied by men who do have wives who do not work outside the home. And those men may not fully understand the lives of the people who work for them."
At 96%: "Every society says its outsiders are the problem. But the outsiders are not the problem; the urge to create outsiders is the problem. Overcoming that urge is our greatest challenge and our greatest promise. It will take courage and insight, because the people we push to the margins are the ones who trigger in us the feelings we're afraid of."
I also have a couple more books on my tbr list: The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
I think that this book is an excellent spotlight on some of the amazing work that Melinda and her foundation have done. It showcases some organizations doing great things and talks about concepts of gender equity that are important for everyone to hear. I definitely recommend this book for the topics it covers and the information within, though with the few caveats I listed in the beginning.
littlelea05's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
jimmyceroneii's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful
Melinda Gates weaves in touching stories with insightful facts in a narrative that delights and surprises. This is a keeper.
Melinda Gates weaves in touching stories with insightful facts in a narrative that delights and surprises. This is a keeper.
leasummer's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Part memoir, part look at the Gates Foundation and part lifting up women and the benefits. I enjoyed how Gates acknowledges her privilege and explains why she shares her stories alongside the poorest women’s stories. It’s an enjoyable read despite the horrible treatment of women. Definitely recommend.
mckayladd's review
5.0
Very eye opening book where Melinda shares stories of women and men around the world how when especially women are empowered it lifts communities and families. She does a great job letting the stories speak for themselves and not overshadowing them. I was shocked by some of the things happening in the world but very grateful for her words and love. Would definitely recommend although there are some parts that might be jarring.