Melinda French Gates. (Jason Bell Photo). Melinda French Gates is giving $150 million to a variety of groups to help remove barriers for women in the workplace, including in the tech industry and the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence.The announcement Wednesday from French Gates’ Seattle-based Pivotal Ventures is part of the billionaire philanthropist’s prior commitment to grant $1 billion to programs and people working on women’s and family issues.In a video on the Pivotal website, French Gates said that while women’s representation in the workforce has increased substantially over the last few years, significant barriers — such as lack of caregiving and ongoing discrimination — continue to hold women back from truly thriving at work.“As it stands, the modern workplace simply wasn’t built with women in mind. And it’s time for that to change,” she said.AI and tech innovation are a key focus of the change that French Gates believes is needed.According to Axios, $45 million will go toward increasing women’s representation in AI and tech through groups such as the Center for Inclusive Computing, Rewriting the Code and Break Through Tech AI.“AI will continue to have a growing and disproportionate impact on society, and we want to build the pipeline of women leaders shaping AI and ensure companies deploying AI are maximizing its benefits and minimizing its harms,” Dr. Renee Wittemyer, vice president of Program Strategy for Pivotal, said in an interview published on the website.Wittemyer added that there are opportunities to leverage AI to remove workplace barriers for women as it is integrated into HR systems and other practices.The Aspen Institute will get $75 million to establish a workplace innovation council, according to Axios, and other groups will share $30 million, including Lift Our Voices, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, National Partnership for Women Families, Responsible Innovation Labs, and Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School.Here’s the transcript of Gates’ video announcement on Wednesday:. “Women’s representation in the workforce has increased substantially over the last few years

Get ready for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, our signature event for startups of all stages, taking place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30. This year, we’re expecting a massive turnout of 10,000+ leaders from the startup, VC, and broader tech community.As part of the program, we’re thrilled to unveil the complete agenda for the Disrupt Stage, with some of the big names in tech that have dominated — and continue to dominate — the news cycle this year. Hear from the CEOs of General Motors, Databricks, and Wiz; investors Vinod Khosla, Ashton Kutcher, Tony Fadell, and Erin and Sara Foster; and former NFL player and founder Colin Kaepernick. The Disrupt Stage is the culmination of months of hard work and is just one of six stages featured at this year’s jam-packed event.No TechCrunch Disrupt is complete without the return of the legendary Startup Battlefield. This year’s hand-picked Startup Battlefield 200 will not disappoint. Head to the Expo Hall for the finest display of early-stage startup innovation you’ll ever find under one roof