Around the world today, 132 million girls are out of school, including 34.3 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67.4 million of upper-secondary school age. [1] UNESCO COVID-19 has had an added negative impact on girls’ education, as many of those forced to stay home will be unlikely to return to school due to the loss or illness of a parent or primary breadwinner[2] The Center for Global Development.
Barriers to girls’ education differ among communities and countries – but poverty is consistently pointed to as the most important factor for determining whether a girl can access and complete her education. Girls who live under the poverty line and who face additional disadvantages — such as living in marginalized locations or who have disabilities — are even further behind in terms of access to education, according to the World Bank.[3] World Bank
Education breaks the cycle of poverty by building stronger, healthier families and creating the best circumstances for generational upward mobility, finds landmark research[4] The Heckman Equation by economist James Heckman. More educated women tend to be healthier, employed, active members of society who choose to marry and have children later in life. The personal and family gains in health, employment and civic life afforded by education create a lasting domino effect of prosperity.
In other words, better educated women tend to be more informed about nutrition and healthcare, engage in family planning, marry at a later age, and earn higher incomes. All these factors combined help lift households, communities, and countries out of poverty.
At JYC Girls Impact Foundation, we know that investing in girls’ education at once alleviates poverty and empowers the next generation of future ready women leaders. With an education, girls grow up to earn dramatically higher incomes, becoming key decision makers, responsible for the health, education and financial security of their families. They become future ready leaders!
By providing girls in disadvantaged communities with access to education, we at JYCGIF hope to improve the quality of life for them and their families – and to equip them to become leaders of their communities. JYCGIF is currently collaborating with schools, NGOs, multilateral organizations, the private sector and other donors to advance different projects to provide teen girls with access to education.
