Quality(Education(for(Girls(-WomenThriveWorldwide.pdfVIP

Quality Education for Girls Throughout the developing world, girls face significant barriers to getting a quality education. Often, families living in poverty cannot afford to send all of their children to school and, when forced to choose, send their sons. Traditional divisions of labor often leave girls at a disadvantage regarding education, because tasks given to girls in agriculture, water and fuel collection, cooking, and caring for young siblings and the sick often interfere with schooling. Consequently, millions of the poorest, most vulnerable girls are not in school or are expected to drop out early, despite the fact that research shows girls’ education boosts economic growth and improves the health and well- being of families and communities. The tremendous benefits to educating girls include: (1) increased economic productivity and reduced poverty; (2) lowered maternal and infant mortality rates; (3) delayed sexual activity and improved reproductive health; (4) increased gender equity (5) strengthened democracy; (6) enhanced social status; and (7) improved management of water and other environmental resources. In addition, girls who receive an education tend to marry at a later age and raise fewer children who are healthier, have much better chances of survival, and Photo Credit: Save the Children are more likely to go to school. Each of these factors is proven to reduce poverty. Wages rise 20% for every year beyond the 4th grade that girls attend school. When an educated women’s income increases, “ It’s the right of every child to she will often reinvest as much as 90% of it directly towards family needs, compared with an average of 30-40% for a man. 1 be educated, but from the time of