Girl Power! Equal education for all starts with getting more girls in school

Every child should have the chance to learn through play – in school and out

But to make sure education is fair for all, we need to give girls special attention.

Why? When girls learn equally alongside boys, gender gaps close, economies grow, and the world is fairer, healthier and more prosperous for everyone.

The world’s already come a long way

Today, more girls than ever go to school. But despite all that progress, 129 million girls worldwide still miss out on a quality education (or, in some cultures, any education at all). So, we’ve joined forces with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and pledged to their Girls’ Education Accelerator to do something about it.

GPE partner with countries to understand the gender inequalities girls face. Then they put funding in the right places to break down educational barriers and get girls into the classroom.

There are lots of reasons girls miss out on the education they deserve

Some girls are forced into early marriages. Some stay at home to escape gender violence. Others live in cultures that traditionally take girls out of school early, or don’t send them at all.

Then there are struggles that affect boys and girls: how do children in conflict zones get to school safely?

How do you learn in the middle of a monsoon or if your classroom’s flooded? The climate crisis is making problems like these worse every year.

And recently, the big question has been: how do you keep learning in the middle of a global pandemic when the schools are closed?

The solution isn’t to stop learning.

Research shows that when girls stay in school, everyone benefits

• Local economies improve as girls grow up and get jobs that add to them
• Society becomes fairer as gender equality issues fade
• With more minds on the task, we have a better chance of solving big problems – like the climate crisis
• And families are healthier when parents have the education to make good choices for their own children

That’s why we’ve donated US $15 million to help GPE spread girl power further

Our grant – which GPE matched – will help them fund more initiatives in more countries to breakdown gender inequality barriers. That starts with getting more girls into school.

We know they can do it. Since their work started in 2002, 82 million more girls in GPE partner countries have enrolled in school – including 39 million who are living through conflict or crisis. And there’s been a 65% rise in girls enrolling to primary school in those countries too.

You can read more about our partnership on the GPE’s website, too. We can’t wait to tell you more about our work together.

All photo credits go to Global Partnership for Education.