Why Progress for Girls Can’t Wait

This week marks the fourth annual International Day of the Girl Child.
When we ask women and girls what they want from education, one theme comes through loud and clear — “progress.” They might not use that word, but when the mum talks of her little girl being able to read the books she was never able to, when the teenager dreams of being the first in her family to go to university, and when the young woman refuses to see a glass ceiling to her career… that is progress. Progress for each of them, and ultimately for all of us.
Gender inequality starts with the 31 million girls who are denied their right to an education. An education that literally saves lives. A child born in Sub-Saharan Africa whose mother can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five. It’s one of the reasons why Pearson has convened Project Literacy, a campaign to eradicate illiteracy worldwide. It’s why we’re also working with Camfed to train 5,000 female ‘Learner Guides’ in Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, who are not just securing their own futures, but are shaping the lives of girls who may otherwise be the next forgotten ones. And why we recently invested in Sudiksha, a start-up that recruits local women to manage low-cost schools serving some of India’s poorest communities. (more…)