As per UNICEF, 60 million girls around the world lack access to basic education. Of the 960 million illiterate individuals worldwide, two-thirds are women. Around 129 million girls are out of school, including 32 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67 million of upper-secondary school age. In countries affected by conflict, girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school as girls in non-affected countries. Globally, 1 in 4 girls (age 15-19) are neither employed nor in school, compared with 1 in 10 boys. As per a World Economic Forum report, women continue to face economic impediments, unequal wages, challenging workplace conditions, and exclusion from meaningful economic and political productivity. As per a press release on UNESCO, the costs for gender gap in education adds up to $10 billion a year. Cutting down the school dropout rates both for girls and boys would increase annual GDP growth by 1 to 2%.
Some of the critical outcomes of elevated levels of Girls’ Education include:
- Better employment opportunities leading to greater levels of financial independence among girls. In the US, for example, the mean earnings for women in 2021 stood at $65,987 per year. However, there was a difference of $97,380 in the income of women with a high school diploma versus a professional degree (source). An extra year of secondary school for girls can increase their future earnings by 10 to 20 percent.
STEM and digital literacy as pivotal tools for lucrative careers for girls. The global participation of women is much lower than men in the STEM workforce. As per UNDP, “Skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are vital tools for women to play a constructive role in tackling critical and urgent sustainable development problems, ranging from climate crises to food security to gender-based violence.”- Rising graph of economic productivity in family, community, and society correlates with girls’ education. As per USAID (2017-20), if 10 percent more adolescent girls attend school, a country’s GDP increases by 3%.
- Better Health and Wellness Outcomes for Families, including mental health and substance abuse disorders. A child whose mother can read is 50% more likely to live past age 5. Increasing educational opportunities for girls and women leads to reduced domestic abuse and violence, and a reduction in the rate of social malpractices like child marriage. Education empowers women with an increased ability to promote a safe environment for children and young generations to thrive (source).
- Girls’ education can create greater awareness and agency among women to tackle climate change. As per an article by Christina Kwauk on February 10, 2021 (Brookings), women are more prone to extreme effects of climate change and can tackle issues related to reproductive health, pro-environmental decision-making, and access to “green skills for green jobs” with a mode of education focused on the environment. A detailed review of the ways in which organizations like Greening Education Partnerships, Rotary International, and UNESCO are promoting Climate Change Education in schools is available on source. A detailed view of the ways in which Rotary, UNICEF, and educational communities are fostering sustainable living and biodiversity to global communities is accessible on the ESRAG Newsletter, source.