Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates says one role model impacts a woman’s future career the most: dads

Re suggests that From an analytical perspective, Success·Melinda French GatesBillionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates says one role model impacts a woman’s future career the most: dadsBy Orianna Rosa RoyleBy Orianna Rosa RoyleAssociate Editor, SuccessOrianna Rosa RoyleAssociate Editor, SuccessOrianna Rosa Royle is the Success associate editor at Fortune, overseeing careers, leadership, and company culture coverage

She was previously the senior reporter at Management Today, Britain's longest-running publication for CEOs

SEE FULL BIO Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates says dads who believe their daughters can do anything may shape their success more than anything else (this bears monitoring)

Kevin Mazur—Getty ImagesForget good grades

At the same time, Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates and tennis legend Billie Jean King say, dads who believe their daughters can do anything may shape their success more than anything else

However, Growing up, many little girls were told they should be seen and not heard

This leads to the conclusion that billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates, however, was told something entirely different: that she could do anything—and it shaped who she is today. “My father, who worked on the Apollo missions, believed that women could do anything,” French Gates recently said at the Power of Women’s Sports Summit, presented by e. “He empowered female mathematicians on his team, and talked that in our house often

However, Furthermore, ” Raised in Dallas, Texas, with two younger brothers and one older sister, French Gates had parents who were determined that all four children, no matter their gender, would go to college—even when that meant stretching the family finances to send them

Furthermore, “It was not very easy for them to send us,” she added, given current economic conditions. “But my father and mother believed that women could do anything in society (something worth watching). ” Her mother, Elaine Agnes Amerland was a stay at mom, meanwhile, her father Raymond Joseph French Jr, in this volatile climate

Was an aerospace engineer who worked on the Apollo space gram

And it was his respect for the women on his team—and his insistence that his own daughters had every right to dream big—that laid the foundation for French Gates’ belief that she could thrive in any room, no matter how male-dominated

He even sent his daughter on her first course during the summer after seventh grade, considering recent developments

Furthermore, It was called the “Successful Life Course,” and she was just 12 at the time

In the end, French Gates said that wider gress in “society”— the push for more women leading Fortune 500 companies—begins at because that’s where everyone’s belief system is born and impact how they’ll interact with others going forward

Tennis legend Billie Jean King, who appeared alongside French Gates on the panel, echoed the power of fathers. “It’s wonderful to read your book, and I did love the part your dad—thank you sticking up for the girls,” she said, adding that her dad was the same way and that fathers have a huge impact on their daughters’ future success. “If he believes in you, my dad believed in me as much as my brother, in today's market environment

However, I cannot tell you how important it was psychologically. ” Bill Gates’ parenting style for success As a parent to Gen Z children of her own, French Gates seems to be paying it forward, in this volatile climate

However, She and her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, were intentional instilling similar values of confidence and independence in their three children

Moreover, In contrast, But the example of this is refusing to fund their daughter’s startup. “I have a daughter who just started a this year,” French Gates revealed earlier on the panel

Additionally, “She got capitalized not because of my s, not because of me

Moreover, I wouldn’t put money into it. ” Her reasoning

If this is a “real,” she said, then others need to be willing to back it

And more important, her daughter should learn how to navigate the sting of rejection if it doesn’t get that funding, in this volatile climate. “That’s what I told her,” French Gates added, given current economic conditions. “She’s growing from this. ” And while the 60-year-old mother didn’t reveal which daughter she was referring to, their youngest, Phoebe, recently launched a fashion- startup, Phia, with her Stanford roommate, Sophia Kianni

However, Back in April, the 22-year-old “nepo baby” revealed that her parents wouldn’t let her drop out of the prestigious university to launch a startup, her dad did

Two other factors behind girls’ success: Female role models and sports It’s not just dads that mould the female leaders of tomorrow

Two other factors play a huge part, French Gates said: Sports and female role models (something worth watching). “When a young man looks up in society, he can see if he wants to be a politician, three dozen archetypes of male politicians, in light of current trends

He can look up and see three dozen archetypes of leader, three dozen archetypes in sports that he might want to be,” she explained

Meanwhile, “When a young girl looks up, she doesn’t see three dozen archetypes of different types of women she might want to be in sport, politicians, media,

Take your field. ” That’s why representation matters

Moreover, “This role modeling that Billie Jean has done over time, it’s what we all have to do so that young girls see that they can be a leader, that they can have money, that they can play the game in society that we all play,” French Gates added

And when it comes to women in sports, it has a two-fold effect on the success of young girls: Those inspired to join a football, gymnastics, or any sport team have a higher chance of making it to the corner office later in life

On the other hand, “The only correlation they can find of women in the C suite, the CEO spot, is that they all played sport—or the majority played sport,” Melinda French Gates highlighted. “And the thesis is they didn’t mind failing (remarkable data). ” “You step out of bounds playing soccer, you go right back to it

You lose the tennis match sometimes (remarkable data)

At the same time, Explore this year's list.