An initiative from philanthropists Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott and the family foundation of billionaire Lynn Schusterman awarded $40 million Thursday to four promoting gender equality projects in tech, higher education, caregiving and minority communities.
The projects are the winners of The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, a funding competition launched in June 2020 with the goal of expanding women’s power and influence in the United States. According to an announcement released Thursday by Lever for Change, an affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation that managed the challenge, the awardees, selected from a pool of more than 500 proposals submitted from across the country, will receive $10 million each.
Equality Can't Wait will fund: Building Women’s Equality through Strengthening the Care Infrastructure, a project by a coalition of organizations working on the societal perceptions of caregiving; Changing the Face of Tech, an initiative to offer women more opportunities in the tech sector; Girls Inc.’s Project Accelerate, which aims to help young women through college and career entry; and The Future is Indigenous Womxn, an initiative to support businesses owned by Native American women.
The three funders have all given contributions to gender equality initiatives in the past. And French Gates, whose investment and incubation company Pivotal Ventures hosted the competition, has pledged to spend $1 billion toward such projects in the U.S., citing low rates of women in leadership positions. That money is slated to be spent through Pivotal, which unlike a traditional charity, is able to invest in high-risk, for-profit entities and become more politically involved. It also doesn't have to disclose information on all the groups it funds.
French Gates said in a statement Thursday that “we can break the patterns of history" and advance gender equality if there's a commitment to support organizations, like the awardees, "that are ready to lift up women and girls.” While Scott, who's given more than $8 billion in three rounds of funding since last year, praised the awardees for having “strong teams working on the front lines and from within communities to help women build power in their lives and careers.”
Separately, additional funding of $8 million will be split between two finalists: one project working to combat physical, sexual and other forms of violence inflicted by romantic partners and another aiming to help young women become more politically active.
Nicole Bates, Pivotal Ventures’ director of strategic partnerships and initiatives, declined to say how Scott and Scott's husband, Dan Jewett, became involved with the funding competition, but noted it was “exciting to join forces and make a collective statement about the importance of gender equality.”
“Those of us who share values, particularly in gender, we see each other and we respect each other’s work,” Bates said.
French Gates also serves as a co-chair and trustee at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable foundation in the world. The foundation said earlier this month that French Gates would continue in her role after her divorce from Bill Gates. However, if after two years, the two decide they cannot continue in their roles, she will resign.
_____
The Associated Press receives support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
In the fight against climate change, much of the conversation revolves around reducing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide or methane - and attempting to raise oxygen levels. But there's another gas - hydrogen - that could play a big role in the fight for the climate. Marco Alvera, CEO of Italian energy infrastructure company Snam and author of the book, 'The Hydrogen Revolution,' joined Cheddar Climate to explain the role hydrogen plays in helping achieve a net-zero future.
Vietnam's first global automaker is coming to the United States. VinFast unveiled the company's full EV lineup of five models at CES 2022. A reservation program for its first two electric vehicles, the VF 326 and the VF e35, officially opened on Wednesday, with the company set to announce the vehicle's retail prices in the U.S. and Vietnamese markets. VinFast is also one of the world's first automakers to apply blockchain technologies to the process of certifying reservations, payments, and eventually vehicle ownership. VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
AT&T and Verizon have agreed to delay activating their 5G services for two weeks after Airlines for America, a lobbying group that represents American, Delta, and other airlines, filed a petition last week with the FCC to stop the deployment of 5G in the U.S. over concerns that the network can interfere with certain systems on airplanes. President Biden spoke out about it, saying it would avoid further delays and cancellations of flights. Light Reading 5G and Mobile Strategies Director Mike Dano joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Nick Hotchkin, WW chief operating officer, joins Cheddar News to talk about the company's latest program innovation 'PersonalPoints.' Liv Bowser, founder of Liberate, talks to our Hena Doba about creating the first mental fitness studio. Meanwhile, students in Illinois will now receive 5 mental health days per year, State Senator Robert Martwick tell us more about the bill.
Americans looking to purchase at-home COVID-19 tests will now have to shell out a bit more money after an agreement expired between the White House and companies to sell the tests at cost. The price of Abbot's BinaxNow test kit from October to December was $14 apiece; on Tuesday, Walmart's website listed the test for $19.88, and Kroger listed the tests for $23.99. Carbon Health Regional Clinical Director Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the impact higher prices will have as the nation experiences another surge in cases.
Caroline Polisi, Criminal Defense Attorney & Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, breaks down the Holmes verdict and how this case impacts the reputation of female entrepreneurs.
As millions of kids go back to school, districts across the country are determined to keep class in person, despite a surge in COVID cases. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to keep the nation's largest school system open amid Omicron, citing the disastrous effect of remote learning on students. Oswald Feliz, NYC council member who sits on the health and education committee, joined Cheddar to discuss the city's plan to combat the recent surge and keep kids in school.
Schools across the country are determined to keep class in session, despite the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. While many parents prefer in-person learning, they also worry whether the current public health guidelines will be enough to protect their kids. Erin Richards, national education reporter for USA Today, joined Cheddar to discuss how are schools are preparing for the surge to avoid another round of remote learning.
Joe Sanberg, Business leader, entrepreneur, and anti-poverty advocate, joins Cheddar News to discuss his push for an $18 minimum wage in California, and how employers are reacting to minimum wage hikes across the country.
