The matrix of issues described support the idea that "there are no isolated problems." Did you feel strongly that one issue or another was a "root" cause? Which issue in the book is most relevant to your own life?

Each chapter of the book focuses on a central issue of gender equality, and yet taken as a whole they form a matrix of issues that support the idea that "there are no isolated problems." Did you feel strongly that one issue or another was a "root" cause from which the others proliferated, or that you identified with one or two more than others? Which issue in the book is most relevant to your own life?

I think Gates correctly identifies poverty as a core issue that both impacts and can be impacted by the other issues -- maternal and newborn care, contraception, education, equality, and equity -- that she discusses. All of these issues are intertwined and overpalling, so a change in one impacts the others.

I just finished reading Caste which describes our American Caste system. Many of Melinda's ideas of gender inequality correlate to the issue of racial inequality. I was particularly moved by her comments about how religion is the source of inequity. I often come to this same conclusion, but I rarely see in put so starkly in these types of discussions.