WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Consider# this.

In at least 93 countries, it's legally acceptable to pay women less for doing the exact same job as a man.

That's just one of a litany of# examples where women's economic equality is denied.

And these inequities# impact not just women, but their children,## their families and their broader communities.# The U.N. estimates that closing the gender gap,## not just in pay, but in other ways, such as# giving them more access to loans and capital,## could give the global economy# a $7 trillion jump-start.

These issues are atop of mind for many this# week as world leaders gather in Washington,## D.C., for meetings hosted by the World# Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

One person advocating for a more just economy# is Melinda French Gates.

She's the co-chair of## the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,# which is a funder of the "NewsHour."

Melinda Gates, welcome back to the# "NewsHour."

So nice to have you here.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES, Co-Founder, Bill and Melinda# Gates Foundation: Thanks for having me, William.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So I mentioned this# one fact about the -.. to pay women less than men, but, again,# that's just one example of so many.

When you are here trying to convince# people about this inequity existing## and causing harms, what do you argue?

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: I'm arguing for,## let's fix the system.

And to# be honest, it's not that hard.

If you look at high-income countries,# we don't have it all right yet,## but women are doing better in# our country than in many others.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Right.

We're not immune to this.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: We're not immune.. it was 19 -- early 1970s that a woman finally## didn't need her husband to sign on# her bank account in our country.

So if we get the regulations right in# other countries and we move capital,## this large-scale capital that goes from# the World Bank or the IMF, but we really## hook it up to the women entrepreneurs,# there are literally millions of female## entrepreneurs across the continent of Africa,# and we make sure the loans are right-sized,## the interest rate is paid monthly, not# weekly, it isn't at an exorbitant fee,## these women will actually grow not just# their business, but their entire economy.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And those disparities that# you're describing, those are what exist today?

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Yes, they still exist# in many countries.

A woman can't get a loan## without her husband signing off on it.

So we need# to fix those laws, but we also need to fix credit.

Right now, a woman often doesn't have a credit# score in Africa.

She doesn't have the collateral## to prove she's creditworthy.

And yet, if# we can get her on a mobile bank account,## which many women are getting on to, we can# start to see that she's paying bills.

She's## actually financially very literate and that she# can build credit and we can help her then get a## small loan to not only educate her kids,# but advance the business she cares about.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So you're here# talking to the World Bank and the## IMF and the heads of these very large# international banking structures.

When you make this argument to them, are# they nodding along with you?

Are they## looking skeptical at you?

Do they# appreciate what you're talking about?

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: I would say it's only# been in about the last eight years that the## world and these large financial institutions have# woken up to the opportunity that women present.

If I look back 15 years, when I used to# come to these institutions or to the U.N.,## we didn't really talk about women.# But now people realize -- like,## take the United States.

Women have the most# purchasing power of anybody in our own country.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Right.

MELINDA FRENCH G..

But they have to get their whole# organization moving in that direction.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: How do you explain that chasm,# the disparity that exists?

Again, we understand## some of the societal forces that work here that# we have been fighting against for generations.

How do you explain that around the world?

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Well, it's# much the same.

It's the social norms.

For better or for worse, we set the world up for# males.

And what's happening now is that females,## when you send them out into the work force# or to capitalize their small business,## they run up against these systemic barriers.# So, a man doesn't understand their business## if he's the one that's going to extend the# credit or he's going to give the loan, right?

They don't see the business.

They don't# understand it.

They often have bias,## thinking, oh, a woman can't run a business.# So we have to break down those barriers so## that we show and we demonstrate that women can# create society the way we want it and that we## can as investors get a good return.

And then I# think you will see vast amounts of money flow.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: It's a good investment,## a good return on investment that always.. MELINDA FRENCH GATES: That's# right.

And it should be,## right?

We expect in our investments to have a# return, but sometimes also in .. For instance, these large global institutions# we're talking about, you have to both do some## grant funding and the loan piece, because we# know -- India is a perfect example.

They put## their women -- many women in these self-help# groups, and now they are lending to 42## million women-led businesses because they're# seeing it's advancing the Indian economy.

But there had to be grant-making at the# beginning to get women organized and have## the mentorship and the sponsorship to then# be able to know how to start their business.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I imagine there's also this# suite of other complicating factors too, war,## conflict, political unrest,# climate change, that, again,## we know disproportionately falls hardest on# women and that you also have to be trying to## ameliorate those things to create the# conditions by which women can thrive.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Absolutely.

And it's particularly difficult at the meetings#.. climate change.

Conflict is rife.

But what# we're trying to get the high-income countries## to understand is, you have to also continue these# investments in Africa and across the continent## of Africa and Southeast Asia, because countries# want to move from low to middle to high income.

And we know it's possible.

Peru has done# it.

India has done it.

South Korea used## to be a recipient of aid.

Now they give aid.# And so, if we keep making these investments,## you will see peace and prosperity in# those places, as opposed to more conflict.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You touched on this before,## but I know you're here trying to cajole bankers# and the World Bank and t..

Some of this, as you mentioned,# is also pushing back on societal,## cultural, oftentimes religious beliefs about# the role that women should and ought to play## in societies.

That seems like that's# a much tougher stream to swim against.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Those issues are tough to# swim against, even in our own country, right?

We're seeing the rollback of women's rights and# health.

And so, when I look at those issues,## I say we need to get more women,# for instance, in our country,## in the 7,000 seats in the statehouses# and in Congress and in the Senate,## because women have a different lens on# society and they will make different policy.

In countries around the world, much is# the same thing.

Some -- they're trying## to get more women into their parliaments# because they create different policies.## They see what is often unseen.

They see# the unpaid work women do.

They see the## caregiving burden of they need to care# for the children and run the business.

And so I think getting women into all those# seats of power really will change society.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Are there examples that you# point to, if someone expresses skepticism about## moving this rock up this huge hill, that# you say, look at X, this proof of concept?

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Well, at large scale,# I say, look at India.

India really has gotten## their mobile phone penetration out there.# They have gotten people I.D.ed on their## phone.

People have bank accounts.

It's# not just men, but they have looked at## the gender gap and they're trying to get# more women with their own bank account.

They're now scaling and getting resources# out to women.

And they're starting to see## they're on the economic rise in a huge# way.

So I point to them as a large-scale## example of how and where this can work.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Melinda French Gates, thank# you so much for being here.

Great to see you.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Thanks for having me.