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Beyond the Rightness of It, why care about sending girls to school?
Sending girls to school is foremost a matter of equity---it is a basic moral obligation. But educating girls is not just a moral imperative. It is also an economic one. When girls are not educated, a society constrains its productivity and ultimately, its rate of growth.
The beneficial impact of an educated woman on infant mortality, fertility, health and productivity is profound. Educated women have fewer and healthier children. They are more productive and earn higher wages. Because women are the primary educators and nurturers of children, the societal returns on investments in women's education are significantly greater than for similar investments in men.
Each year of schooling a girl receives, produces measurable benefits. In Africa, the child of a woman who has not been to school has a one in five chance of dying before age five.ii A child whose mother attended five years of school has a 40 percent lower mortality risk.iii In China, eight years of schooling enables a girl to become a teacher, after which she is eligible for additional training at no cost. Eight years of schooling can lift a girl out of poverty.
In an increasingly interconnected world---politically, economically and environmentally--- educating girls in all countries helps all of us. Educated girls become educated women and educated women influence entire families, communities and nations. Consider the contributions to science, government, the arts and society made by educated women--Marie Curie, Mother Theresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Toni Morrison, Betty Bao Lord, Alice Walker, Rigoberta Menchu, Hannah Arendt, Golda Meir, Flossie Wong-Staal, Madeline Albright, Unity Dow, Maya Lin, Aung San Suu Kyi and Princess Diana.
Imagine the possibilities if all the world's women were educated.
". . . [O]nce its benefits are recognized, investment in girls' education may well be the highest return investment available in the developing world."---Lawrence H. Summers Former Chief Economist The World Bank
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