Education

Education

Why do some people fight so hard to keep girls from getting an education—sometimes resorting to unspeakable acts of violence, including gas and acid attacks and bombings?

Education is the single most powerful tool to end poverty and empower women and girls. For every year a girl spends in primary school, her earning potential increases by 15 percent, and she becomes more likely to send her own children to school. Yet worldwide, women are still twice as likely as men to be illiterate.

For many girls, school is not an option. Pressure to care for one’s family, pregnancy, and some religious doctrines often compel girls around the world to drop out when they’re very young, or never enroll at all. Families with only enough resources to send some children to school will most often choose their sons.

When women are given equal access to education, amazing things happen. In the U.S., more women than men are now entering college—and young, college-educated women in several big cities are out-earning their male counterparts for the first time. Women with access to education make better decisions for themselves, their children, and their families. And it pays off for everyone else, too: educating women lifts a country’s economy and boosts public health.

Solutions

Circle of Women

Circle of Women

One educated girl affects one community. One community effects a world of change. Circle of Women mobilizes students to provide access to education for girls without it. Take Action »

Korean Resource Center (KRC)

Korean Resource Center (KRC)

The Korean Resource Center (KRC, 민족학교) was founded in 1983 to empower Korean American community, low-income immigrant and people of color communities through a holistic model that combines education, social services, and culture with effective community advocacy and organizing. Take Action »

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) works with the purpose of projecting a national progressive voice on major civil rights and immigrant rights issues and promoting the full participation of Korean Americans with the greater goal of building a national movement for social change. Take Action »

The Tinogana Foundation

The Tinogana Foundation

The Tinogona Foundation is working on the Matau School, a project is close to Dr. Tererai Trent's heart. Her former elementary school in northern Zimbabwe is currently in deteriorating shambles, too small for the large numbers of children and lacking in supplies, such as desks, books, and bathrooms. But that's about to change. Take Action »

Kasparov Chess Foundation

Kasparov Chess Foundation

Founded by World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, the Kasparov Chess Foundation's mission is to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children throughout the United States by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs. Take Action »

More Solutions »

Stories

More Stories »

Woman of the Week

This Week's Game Changer

How to Succeed—Even Before You Graduate: 5 Tips from Anna Nti-Asare
Education, Health and Well-Being, Politics and Leadership

How to Succeed—Even Before You Graduate: 5 Tips from Anna Nti-Asare

View Archive