Why Women's Empowerment?

Non-governmental organizations work with and on behalf of all individuals who live in poverty. But because 70 percent of the world’s poor are female, these organizations should naturally focus on addressing the social injustices that relegate women and girls to lives of want and indignity. It is imperative to work with women and girls because, quite simply, they deserve to meet their most basic needs, claim their most basic rights and have the opportunity to live in dignity and pursue their dreams.

Working with women strategically makes good investment sense.  Women, more than men, tend to parlay improvements in their own lives into the lives of their children and communities.  Increases in income typically translate into greater investment in children’s education and health care. Education for girls and women plays a strong role in the next generation’s health and well-being.  And the entire world benefits from the creativity, intelligence and effort that flower when girls and women are freed from strictures that keep them uneducated, silenced and relegated to home and field.