Billionaire philanthropist, Melinda French Gates, says she will dole out $1 billion to support women rights groups and advance reproductive rights in the U.S. over the next two years.

Ms French Gates, a firm believer that investing in women was not a waste of resources as it would benefit all citizens, said it was frustrating that people still felt conversations about gender equity should be be postponed till much later.

“Decades of research on economics, well-being and governance make it clear that investing in women and girls benefits everyone,” the billionaire wrote in a guest essay for The New York Times on Tuesday.

Ms French Gates said her organisation, Pivotal Ventures, has already initiated steps to share $200 million grant among groups who promote and defend women’s rights. 

The funds were to support the operations of the selected groups including National Women’s Law Centre, National Domestic Workers Alliance and Centre for Reproductive Rights and not for any targeted projects.

Upon her resignation earlier this month from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she disclosed the terms of her exit allowed her to leave with “an additional $12.5 billion to commit to my work on behalf of women and families.”

Teresa Younger, a beneficiary of the grant, hailed Ms French Gates for her generosity. 

Ms Younger who did not disclose the exact amount of dollars her foundation received, explained that she didn’t have to go through a rigorous application process to access the grant.