Meghan Wants You To Celebrate Her 40th Birthday By Spending 40 Minutes Mentoring Women

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex is turning 40, and to celebrate her birthday, she’s launching a philanthropic initiative to help get more women back to work. Due to the pandemic, over two million women in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide have left the workforce. The Duchess is asking that each of us spend 40 minutes helping reverse this trend.

Meghan revealed the initiative on her website yesterday by posting a lighthearted video with actress Melissa McCarthy. “I believe mentorship is one way to help women regain confidence and rebuild their economic strength and for my birthday, I have asked 40 friends, activists, athletes, artists and world leaders to help kickoff a global effort by contributing 40 minutes of mentorship to support women re-entering the workforce. With this time, I hope they each help someone advance a professional life on her own terms, and, I hope that they inspire countless others to give 40 minutes of their time as well,” the Duchess of Sussex wrote on the website of her charitable foundation Archewell. She calls the initiative 40×40 because she is asking these 40 individuals to each contribute 40 minutes of their time. She hopes they will inspire others to follow suit.

How exactly are we supposed to help women to return to work? The Duchess recommends mentoring and offers some specific avenues to help people get involved. The 40×40 initiative has partnered with Smart Works, YWCA and L.A. Works to provide specific opportunities for anyone looking to donate their time. “Help a U.K. woman prepare for an interview,” “Reach out to a woman looking for employment,” “Support mentoring and advocacy efforts that inspire girls” and “Tutor a teenage girl who is navigating high school on her computer” are just a few of the specific opportunities provided with links for those that want to get more involved. 

Already, many are coming up with unique ways to contribute. One woman has offered four 40 minute photo sessions for women who need headshots or portraits. A reporter is offering to mentor women who hope to become journalists. The #40×40 is trending on Twitter with more inspiring pledges of involvement.

And some heavy-hitters have signed on to commit to the 40-minute goal.  The Daily Mail reports that Hillary Clinton, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, singer Adele, TV anchor Katie Couric, designer Stella McCartney, poet Amanda Gorman and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau are among those who have agreed to participate.

But not everyone is focusing on the work at hand.  Town & Country focused on the hidden meaning behind the necklace Meghan wore in her video (it’s apparently a tribute to her children), she was mocked on an Australian news program for being “too smiley,” and others have focused on the few seconds of the video where Prince Harry can be seen juggling outside the window.  These reactions merely highlight that women are often judged on much more than their work. All the more reason to donate 40 minutes.

The Duchess of Sussex’s initiative only asks for 40 minutes which makes it easy for anyone to participate. Hopefully, the mentorship received from 40×40 will result in an uptick in women re-entering the workforce.