By Aaron Benavot, director of the GEM Report, UNESCO
One answer: poverty.
Despite every government in the world promising free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education to everyone, 130 million girls are out of school today. It’s difficult to comprehend what that means for each one of the one hundred and thirty million girl children and adolescents, but a new blog from the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report released for International Women’s Day helps to break down that number...
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Pop quiz: what are the benefits of sending girls to school? You might answer that they will learn how to read, write and do arithmetic, all of which equip them to enter the workforce, earn an income, and contribute more to the economy … And you would be correct. But that’s only part of the answer. Beyond improving their knowledge, skills and earning potential, educating girls can have a big impact on their health, and the health of their...
130 million girls didn’t go to school today.
Not because they didn’t want to, but because they weren’t given the chance.
They are denied an education for a variety of reasons, from cultural norms and costs, to violence and extremism. The result is that these 130 million girls don’t have a fair chance to live a decent and productive life, and the entire world misses out by not benefitting from their potential.
This is a global crisis—we need to sound the alarm...
The evidence that educating girls creates healthier, wealthier, fairer, and more stable communities is overwhelming—so why isn’t every girl getting a quality education? The barriers, particularly for girls in the poorest countries, are wide-ranging and complex but these are some of the most challenging: Cost The cost of supplies can limit girls access to education. Even in areas where school fees are non-existent, there’s still a price to pay. Students are often required to buy uniforms, transportation,...
For the fourth year in a row, ONE, Accountability Lab, and #CultureFix have teamed up to host the Honesty Oscars! This campaign honors inspirational organizations, activists, and artists who make our world more transparent and hold our governments and corporations more accountable.
And once again, YOU got to choose the winner! Hundreds of you went to honestyoscars.org to vote on who you think should win in the categories of Best Female Activist, Best Male Activist, Best Photo, Best Picture/Film, and Best Song. And...
Right now, our newsfeeds are packed with incredible stories of women taking action. To honor the persistence and drive of those women, we’re taking a look at some truly influential women’s rights activists: Suffragists around the world A 1915 photograph of large crowd of suffragists on Capitol steps, some with banners, one with American flag, some in academic gowns, overseen by two uniformed policemen. (Photo credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons) Suffrage has been a worldwide movement with countless determined...
With the force of nearly 2 million ONE members in the U.S., ONE Vote ’16 set out to educate and mobilize voters to ensure that the next president and Congress would be committed to using the United States’ strategic power to help end extreme poverty and create a safer and more stable world.
We knew the next president and Congress would take office at a critical time when there are effective and affordable solutions available that save lives: providing AIDS...
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a little-known but critical part of America’s poverty-fighting apparatus. During the closing days of the Obama Administration, I spoke with the agency’s outgoing chief executive officer, Dana J. Hyde, about her time at MCC and the future of the United States’ poverty-fighting work in Africa.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is not like any other federal department or agency. Can you explain what MCC is, what it does, and how it fits into the United...
With President Barack Obama’s last full day in office drawing near, we wanted to take a look back at the times he — and First Lady Michelle Obama — were key figures in the fight against poverty and preventable disease. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) The Electrify Africa Act is signed into law The president helped 15 million more people get access to electricity with Power Africa and signed the Electrify Africa Act to continue...
Thanks to the ease of email, sitting down and hand-writing an actual letter has fallen out of style. But we have to admit there’s something truly powerful about putting pen to paper in an effort to change the world. Below you’ll find a list of some of our favorite correspondences and open letters… and one we hope you’ll add your name to, too! 1. Nellie Bly Photo credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons “Nellie Bly” was a pioneer of...