From the boy culture at Microsoft (MSFT) in the early 1980s to developing the next generation of female leaders.
Here's a summary of Melinda French Gates' leadership career over the past 40 years.
“When these industries become so male-dominated over time, men expect everyone to act like them. When we don't see people acting like others, there's a backlash,” Gates said on a new episode of Yahoo Finance's Lead This Way.
Gates spoke to us at the headquarters of venture capital firm Pivotal Ventures in Kirkland, Washington, just weeks before he stunned the philanthropy world in mid-May.
Gates, 59, announced that she would step down as co-chair of the Gates Foundation on June 7. She co-founded the Gates Foundation, one of the most influential organizations in global public health, with her former husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, more than 20 years ago.
In a post on X, Gates said it was the right time to “move on to the next chapter of philanthropy.”
Through a spokesperson, Gates declined to comment further on his decision to Yahoo Finance.
Melinda French Gates talks with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Brian Sozzi about the next 10 years as a leader. (Yahoo Finance) (Yahoo Finance)
As part of his separation from the Gates Foundation, Gates will be given $12.5 billion to invest in philanthropic endeavors.
“[The Gates Foundation] “It was a beautiful glue in our lives, and it had been that way for a long time…. We were running the foundation when we were going through difficult times in our marriage. And I would say it was what held us together. We were running the foundation while we were negotiating our divorce behind the scenes that nobody knew about,” Gates told Yahoo Finance.
Gates' next chapter
Gates' decision to leave the Gates Foundation to devote more time to supporting women leaders isn't surprising.
After graduating from Duke University, she joined Microsoft in 1987 as one of its few female managers.
Gates worked at the company for nine years and initially disliked Microsoft's culture and how it affected her leadership development.
“I loved the pace of hard work. I loved that we were changing society. I knew we were changing the world. But I almost quit after two years because of this so-called bro culture… The leadership style was very argument-oriented, just constant arguing and rough and tumble,” Gates recalled.
“I didn't actually like who I was outside of work. Being able to play the game. I knew how to play the game and I knew how to run a meeting. But I just said, Wait, who is this? And I wasn't.
The story continues
Although Gates received offers from consulting firms, he decided to stay at Microsoft and break down barriers.
“I found that by being myself and having a different type of leadership, I was able to attract all kinds of talent within the company who didn't want that rowdy culture,” she said.
By 2000, she co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (now the Gates Foundation). The foundation aims to reduce health disparities in low-income countries. Thanks to $3.1 billion in annual donations from her friend, famed investor Warren Buffett, the Gateses have catapulted to the top of the philanthropic world.
The Gates Foundation remains influential in the philanthropic world. (Yahoo Finance)
Gates then founded Pivotal Ventures in 2015 to invest in early-stage companies led by women.
A recent McKinsey report found that less than 2% of the total capital invested in venture capital-backed startups in the U.S. in 2022 went to companies founded entirely by women. Only 0.1% of venture capital funding went to Black and Latinx female founders.
To date, Pivotal Ventures has invested in more than 150 organizations, including Ellevest, a wealth management company for women, and the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit organization dedicated to achieving gender equality.
In the venture capital space, Pivotal Ventures makes both indirect and direct investments in Series A to C companies. His 100% of the funds in which the firm invests have a female general partner, and more than 60% have at least one general partner who is a person of color.
The “bro culture” that Gates spoke of is still prevalent in the tech industry and is seen as a hindrance to female-founded companies: 72% of women in tech report experiencing this issue, according to a survey by the Women Tech Network.
Meanwhile, 63% of people in engineering and IT jobs have encountered a “pervasive peer culture.”
Looking ahead, Gates said, “I'm also thinking about who are the younger leaders over the next decade that I can support and ultimately hand the baton to.”
“I hope that women and people of color realize that they can lead differently, that they can be at the top of their field, that they can be great people, live their personal lives the way they want, and be leaders in their fields,” she added.
Yahoo Finance's Shelby Boamah and Corey Goldman contributed to this article.
Brian Sozzi is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. He is also the host of the podcast “The Opening Bid.” Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X Brian Sozzi And on LinkedIn. Have a tip on a deal, merger, activist situation, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com. Are you a CEO and would you like to appear on Yahoo Finance Live? Email Brian Sozzi at Yahoo!Finance.com.
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