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Hi there, friends. Well, we have all been sold a pretty specific story, I'd say, about what your next chapter is supposed to look like. You slow down a little bit, you finally start putting yourself first after lots of years of putting everybody else there. And I love a good rest as much as the next woman, but the guest sitting across from me today did the exact opposite and I've not been able to stop thinking about it. Melinda French Gates spent 25 years running the biggest philanthropy in the world and somewhere in her late 50s, she walked away from all of it. Not to slow down, though, but to go pick a harder fight. And here's the number that made me understand why. For every dollar the world spends on medical research, only about 5 cents goes to women's health. 5 cents for half the people on the planet. And the piece of women's health that gets ignored the most happens to be the exact piece this whole show is built around, the midlife years nobody warned us about. That's where Melinda has decided to put her money and her name. She also came here with some news and it is big and it's going to matter for every one of you out there listening. I'm not the one that gets to tell you though. I wanted her to come straight here and tell you herself. So, pay attention to what made a woman at the very top decide the fight wasn't finished and pay attention to what she's no longer willing to accept. Okay, enough from me. Let's get into it. So, it's so good to see you and so good to have you here, Melinda.
So glad to be here again.
You know, the last time that we spoke, you had a big announcement and I just I was thinking about it, you know, we were jumping on here to talk and I was thinking about the fact you have pledged $2 billion to women and families in your lifetime, which is just incredible. And today you have more news. So, tell me what you are announcing.
Well, today I'm doubling down on the work that I've already been doing in reproductive health in those years that a woman goes through, but now I'm adding on that other transition in life that all women go through, which is menopause. And I want to make sure that we have the right care and the right research so that women can go through that transition well, also, not just the reproductive years.
I'm so glad to hear that and I, you know, when I first jumped into this space after being a journalist for such a long time, it was mind-boggling to me the number of women we were talking about and then continually seeing the lack of so many different parts of this. You know, I know that the goal, you know, initially when we talked last was announcing funding and support for the nonprofit Welcome Leap, which is just incredible. I mean, the goal to research conditions that uniquely and disproportionately affect women, this new announcement really builds upon all of that, correct?
It does. So, the Welcome Leap announcement really is about trying to find the first piece of it. There will be more later, but the first piece is really trying to figure out how can we help women with their cardiac health? Because again, so often women go into the system and they come out or they even have a heart attack. 50% of them are misdiagnosed. So, we need to be making investments at every stage of women's life, whether it's the reproductive years when they first enter them, or if they're having a child, or they decide not to have a child, that's fine. But then also these later years, we live fullsome lives as women. And if we want to step into our full power, we want to be healthy at every step of the way. You can't do well if you're not if you aren't well to begin with. That's just the truth.
You know, what pulled you toward midlife and menopause? Because I know that it, you know, it's starting to become a real conversation. And I guess when you peel back layers and you look, there's so many areas where we're missing. It's not just the education, it's all parts of this.
It's just as you said, it's all parts. What got me into this area is women are half the population. And guess what? We all go through this time. And for many women, it actually can begin in their 40s. Right where they're in they've got a body of knowledge in their career, they've started their company, they've got their kids, they might even have launched or be launching them. Their most productive years, and then they go through all these symptoms. And we're hearing woman after woman goes into doctor, and they'll have to go three, four, five, six doctors to get diagnosed. That just shouldn't be. And you know, women are experiencing really difficult things, chronic aches, migraines, insomnia, like massive insomnia that can lead to depression. Whereas on the flip side of that, we can help them with those problems, so they can continue to do the work that they're doing. We're hearing one in 10 women telling us they're having to take time off from work because of these symptoms. That just shouldn't be.
It is mind-boggling when I think it. When I think about what we watched other generations go through, too. I mean, for me, I stepped into this because it became very personal for me. It happened at work. I was having brain fog. I was dealing with things. I just didn't feel like myself, which I'm sure you've, you know, heard that sentence over and over if you've talked to any women, you know, in this transition. Was it personal for you at the same time once you started seeing what was going on?
Definitely been personal for me. I have already made that transition, luckily, but it is a difficult time. And look, I'm unbelievably privileged, right? I can go in and get good health services, but it took me three doctors to get the right diagnosis and help with my symptoms. And I was seeing my friends who were either older and or of similar age going through it. And now I'm hearing about my younger friends in my book club going through it. And I'm thinking, if all of us are dealing with this, how about everybody, all the women, right?
You know, it's really interesting because now that women are I think they're feeling a little more free to talk about it at a younger age, too. And a little more like, oh, maybe that is what I'm dealing with. And I think that so many of the listeners we have on the podcast have sat across from a doctor, like you said, and then they've gone from one to another to try to figure out what's happening and then told, you know, as part of that dismissal, your symptoms are just all a part of getting older. And that has to stop happening. And I know that this announcement is going to lead toward women not being dismissed when it comes to being in that doctor's office.
Women should never be dismissed in terms of their symptoms, right? So many women say that they went from doctor to doctor and they just felt unseen or unheard. You know, I have to say, I think even a decade ago, menopause was sort of invisible in society. It was like, 'Ooh, women just go through it. Let's not discuss it.' No, no, no. Come on. We can not only discuss it, we can make sure that the providers are well trained with good medical information. Both the OBGYN community, primary care community of doctors, nurses, midwives, mental health professionals. Let's catch women earlier so they don't end up with all of these symptoms or end up with catastrophic effects, which can also happen after menopause, right? In terms of osteoporosis or heart health.
Mhm. So many of the things I was saying to somebody recently, I didn't talk about my bones before. No one talked to me about cardiovascular health. I went to my first cardiologist just recently because one of the doctors I interviewed said, 'You haven't gone to the cardiologist yet?' And I said, 'I didn't even know I was supposed to.' If there is a woman that's listening that's maybe deep in perimenopause right now and feeling dismissed, what are you hoping she hears is coming? Because I think that, you know, this type of funding, this type of help, this type of exposing some of the things that need to be fixed right now is going to make a real big difference to one woman after another after another.
Well, what I want a woman going through this to know is that in a few years we will have trained all OBGYNs who go through medical school about perimenopause and menopause. Today, only a third of them are trained. So, we will train all of them and guess what? All of that accurate health and training information will go to your primary care doctor, to your medical professional of any sort. So, that when you touch that medical system, it should be that the first person you touch in the system is helping with you with your symptoms. You're not having to leave work and schedule another appointment, leave work again, schedule another appointment to find the right help. The first point of care should be where you start to find help.
So, can we talk about that and just kind of drill down a little bit on the funding and announcement of what where that's going because, you know, you've touched on it. When somebody goes to a doctor, whether it's a GP or whether it's an endocrinologist or an OB/GYN, most of the time they're not informed, like you said. They don't know what's going on. And we're lucky that we have a lot of doctors that have said, 'Okay, you know, I delivered babies for a long time and now I want to focus my attention on midlife care and women that are going through this transition, but there are so many more that are not educated about this.' So, can we talk a little bit about what the funding and the grant is going to be able to do?
Most of it will go to the Menopause Society. They are the credible, established medical organization that does the right training for OB/GYNs, and they will replicate that throughout the medical community.
It's incredible because that is the one area that we need it most, right? So, if a woman's listening right now and she goes to a general practitioner, she goes to somebody else, they will, as a result of this, be educated, informed, and be able to know how to treat that, whether she wants to talk about hormone therapy or wants to talk about other options.
Exactly. And now it's going to take us a few years to get all of that very high-quality training out, but yes, in a couple of years, I would expect a woman can go anywhere and get that kind of information and the credible information.
The fact that it is happening and you're doing what you're doing, I think makes all the difference to women because we know that there are so many years that we go through this transition that, you know, it's exciting to see. With the Menopause Society in particular, they have done just a really incredible job of that education, and now it's a matter of making sure that everybody, you know, is on the same page, no matter who you're going to.
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You know, I want to ask you this. Why go straight to the doctors instead of straight to the women? I think it's really important that people understand that.
Well, because when you go through perimenopause and menopause, you're having an enormous hormonal shift in your body, and it can affect so many parts of the human body. So, you need to make sure that you're getting the right accurate information. So, something let's say you were having a cardiac event, and the symptoms that could be similar to perimenopause or menopause feel the same. You need to get an accurate diagnosis because the route that the doctor takes could be quite different. So, that's why we have to make sure that the medical providers are trained. What are you hearing? I'm curious what you're hearing from your friends or other women that are touching the system. What have their experiences been recently?
Yeah, I mean, I thank you for asking that. I think that the experiences they vary, obviously, and I think that what's been really interesting of late anyway, is the fact that women are going in there really educated, which is good news. Women are going in there saying, 'This is what I want.' And they find some doctors know, and some doctors are not willing to talk to them about it, or some doctors are saying, 'You're too young to start hormone therapy.' If they're in the throws of perimenopause, so it makes me really excited to know that we're going to have eventually doctors that are trained, because for women to be dismissed is unbelievable. And to be what I would said to a friend recently is I said, 'The onus is on women all the time. It's to go in there and fight for it, right? It's to go in there and make sure we've got the right options. It's to make sure that we follow through.' And even today we're talking about an estrogen patch shortage in a lot of places. And so now women have to go there and figure out, you know, what they're going to do for their estrogen. So I think it doesn't stop for women, so it's nice to see, you know, this going toward women during this stage in life, because such a small fraction goes toward women that are in this aging process.
Yeah, totally. I mean, can you imagine if you went into the system today and you're pregnant and you had to tell your doctor how you wanted to deliver your baby?
No. Right? Like that's such a good analogy.
Yeah, that's a good analogy. We rely on the medical doctors to tell us. So again, I think they also want the right incredible information, right? And so it's just time.
I think so. You know, I never want to blame the doctors, because I think that nobody gets into the medical profession not wanting to take care of people. And so, you know, they're but at the same time they've not been educated about that. And so they come into this period of life and I think what I've seen is most of the doctors or physicians that, you know, they're going through this themselves and they're seeing their patients now go through it, are able to share and understand that a lot better, which is great. I've seen many leave their practices of years and years to be able to focus on this.
Yes, and I'm with you. I think the medical professionals and doctors, look, they do heroic work. They are the ones on the front lines taking care of us. And again, I sometimes ask myself, who's caring for them on the back end, especially when we have like a child care crisis, which we do in this country. But by and large, I've also, at least the doctors I've seen, they want to have continuous learning. So let's just make sure that we add this to their learning.
