Priyanka Chopra, Princess Eugenie & More Celebs Are Participating In Meghan Markle's 40x40 Birthday Initiative
Aug. 5 2021, Published 10:11 a.m. ET
Women supporting women! On Wednesday, August 4, Meghan Markle announced a new initiative on her 40th birthday to "help mentor a woman who's mobilizing back into the workforce."
Not only did Melissa McCarthy help deliver the message, but several of Meghan's A-list pals — Princess Eugenie, Priyanka Chopra, Katie Couric, Ciara, Gabrielle Union, Amanda Gorman, Adele, Kerry Washington and more — have committed to doing good.
Eugenie took to her Instagram Stories to get the word out. "To celebrate dear Meghan's 40th birthday, I'm contributing 40 minutes of mentorship to support women reentering the workforce," she wrote. "In the past two years, tens of millions of women around the world have departed the workforce. If you please join me and commit 40 minutes to community, service or mentorship."
Chopra — who has known for Meghan for years — made it clear that she is still pals with the Duchess.
"Happy birthday, Meghan. For her 40th birthday this year, in true Meg fashion, she’s chosen to put the welfare of others first," the Quantico alum said. "As we all know, the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women around the world.In America alone, OVER 2 MILLION WOMEN have departed the workforce since January 2020. The three groups experiencing the largest burdens are mothers, women in senior management positions, and women of colour."
The message continued, "These women, who are pillars of our communities, are shouldering the brunt of the crisis, including homeschooling and caring for family members of all ages.It’s time to help women get back into the workforce.The Duchess of Sussex has asked 40 of her friends to take 40 minutes to support women getting back into the workforce…Of course I was more than happy to join. Now that’s a great way to celebrate a milestone Birthday. Bravo, my friend👏🏽 ❤️You can all join in too. If you are able, donate time to mentoring, community service or any act or service that you can and maybe we can all collectively contribute to a global wave of compassion. #40x40 #CompassioninAction."
"Happy Birthday to this beautiful 👑, Meghan Markle," Washington captioned a photo of the two of them together. "On her 40th birthday, I will be joining The Duchess of Sussex by donating 40 minutes of service to grassroots organizers and organizations on the ground fighting for change. Fighting for our democracy. Fighting for our rights and our voices to be heard as we re-enter into the workforce and a new election season. If you are able, please join us today and pledge 40 minutes to community service or mentorship. Together, we can contribute to a global wave of compassion and positive change. Swipe 👉🏾#40x40#CompassionInAction."
"In reflecting on my 40th birthday and the many things I am grateful for, I'm struck that TIME IS AMONG OUR GREATEST AND MOST ESSENTIAL GIFTS: Time with our loved ones, time doing the things we love, time spent learning, laughing, growing, and the sacred time we have on this earth," Meghan wrote on her Archewell website. "Amongst the most valuable gifts of time is also time spent in service to others knowing that it can contribute to incredible change. To that last point, and with my 40th lap around the sun in mind, it made me wonder: what would happen if we all committed 40 minutes to helping someone else or to mentoring someone in need? And then what would happen if we asked our friends to do the same?"
"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," she continued.
