Investing in women is the single most effective antidote to the world’s pressing problems: conflict, poverty, disease. Women play a special role in society by contributing not only to family well-being but to community well-being as a whole.
A World Bank study showed that when women started small businesses to increase their income, they spent the money on improving the welfare of the family, including education for both girls and boys.
A study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also showed that increases in women’s education make the greatest contribution to reducing the rate of child malnutrition. The UNFPA has also found that women’s empowerment and girls’ education are the single most effective strategies for reducing population growth.
According to the United Nations, economies in the developing world grow by three percent for every 10 percent increase in the number of women who receive secondary schooling.
Our experience shows us that when equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help their families and entire communities escape poverty.
- According to UNFP, for every year a girl spends in school she raises her family income by up to 20 percent.
- Educated girls grow into educated women, who have healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children.
It’s a simple formula: empowerment is the total sum of changes needed for a woman to realise her full human rights. Empowerment is not just about giving women training or a loan: empowerment is more than that. It means that relationships and social structures that shape the lives of women and girls must change, and The Women’s Institute intends to lead the charge on this journey.