This time of year - the couple weeks after school gets out, but before the planning for the next year really begins - when I am still just viewing lesson planners online, instead of purchasing one and beginning to fill it out, is a time when I usually catch up on my reading. And though I read a great deal of silly fiction, I always make time for some serious reading. This year, I found out some important things about girls, women, and education that I think you and I should ponder.

1.     Did you know that despite more and more women attaining four-year degrees, the vast majority of researchers in the world are men (71%)? In every part of the world, there are fewer women than men in STEM fields. But why? The data suggest that workplace bias and lack of mechanisms to protect advancement during child-bearing and rearing years are likely to blame. How can you help? Check out organizations that support girls in STEM, such as The National Girls Collaborative Project, for more information.

2.     Though rare in the United States, girls skipping school or being excluded from educational settings because of menstruation is a global problem. In some countries, it is because of religious or social taboos. But in others, it is a problem of having appropriate menstrual supplies. This lack of supplies can lead to girls missing 10-20% of their school days, which is a huge issue. What can you do to help with that? Check out organizations like Freedom4Girls or The Mooncatcher Project, both of which provide menstrual supplies to girls to help them stay in school.

3.     It isn’t just menstruation issues that are keeping girls from attending school. In some parts of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, girls are unable to go to school in part because of their responsibilities in the home, such as cooking and providing clean drinking water. These responsibilities also mean that girls may be too tired or sick to participate fully in their educational experience. Want to help? Check out Blood:Water or Water For Good.

4.     Child marriage is yet another reason why girls are out of school. Though we tend to think that this is just a foreign problem, child marriage still exists around the world, including in the United States. Though public data in the US is not available for child marriage, attacks on family planning and reproductive freedom in the US are both factors that will have an impact on child marriage in the US and on girls being deprived of education, since young mothers have a harder time staying in school than other students. Want to know more about this? Check out Girls Not Brides for more information about current policy and how you can help. 

5. There are so many wonderful outcomes for increasing girls’ access to education. Education gives women more reproductive freedom, more control over the number of children they have, and better information about nutrition and care of the children they do have. Maternal mortality rates also go down as education goes up. It is worth noting here that the US is currently having what I, and many others, might call a crisis around maternal mortality, particularly among women of color, but in general the statistics around maternal mortality and education still stand. 

There are so many reasons why increasing education for girls around the world is a positive. Though this blog suggests many ways to get involved globally, don’t forget that there are lots of ways that you can get involved locally as well. Volunteering at a Boys & Girls Club or a mentorship program, contributing to local food pantries, and donating to local homeless shelters are great places to start. 

-Amy