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The Moment of Lift

How Empowering Women Changes the World
Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of King County Library System.
Jul 28, 2019sandraperkins rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I will admit I came to this book with some skepticism. Ever since I read Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, by Anand Giridharadas, I have had a more negative view of rich people who are spending their money to solve other people’s problems. Just because they are rich does not mean they know more than other people, and often they know a lot less because their money has insulated them from the problems most regular people have. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Melinda Gates does not pretend that she knows it all; in fact, she tells many stories of the people around the world from whom she has learned so much. I was pleased that she has listened carefully and thoughtfully to people who know more than she does about so many problems because they live with them. (And she has actually met with these people face to face, even living in their homes for a time. She believes in face to face conversations!) She writes about maternal and newborn health, family planning, girls in schools, unpaid work, child marriage, women in agriculture (and gender bias everywhere), and women in the workplace. She makes a very strong case for women and for gender equity. She mentions more than once that the US is the one of very few countries in the whole world, and the only wealthy country, that does not mandate paid maternity leave and paternity leave. How backward we are! She also describes in quite a lot of detail her own personal journey, whether as a Catholic who strongly favors making birth control available to anyone who wants it, or as a woman in the tech industry, or as a partner with her powerful husband in running their foundation. Melinda writes, “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.” We are seeing this every day in our news; our country’s leaders are constantly demonizing “outsiders”. How do we turn things around? Everyone wants to have something to offer, something to contribute. It is how we feel included. If we want to include everyone, we have to help everyone develop their talents and use their gifts for the benefit of the community. This part of her book reminded me of Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, who wrote Tattoos on the Heart, and Barking to the Choir. I especially loved Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. The Moment of Lift is personal, readable and powerful. I felt like Melinda Gates was telling this story just to me. It is moving, and it is also compelling. Women can accomplish anything if they have confidence in themselves and each other!