This past September IIE joined the Clinton Foundation and the Brookings Institution’s Collaborative for Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls’ Education (Girls CHARGE). Girls CHARGE is a collaboration of over 50 companies, civil society organizations, multilaterals and governments all committed to improving learning and leadership opportunities for young women and girls globally. IIE and our Center for Women’s Leadership Initiatives are excited to be a part of such a powerful collective voice in advancing global action on women and girls education. Girls CHARGE partners have committed over $800 million to reach more than 15 million girls by 2019. IIE’s initial commitment is centered around expanding our HER program to help university become a reality for more than 60 girls in Ethiopia. Three of the HER girls received the highest university entrance exam results at their respective schools!
IIE Vice President Edie Cecil and Gender Education Specialist Samantha Lasry-Fleisher attended the Girls CHARGE Annual Strategy Session in December at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC. Girls CHARGE partners from around the world joined, discussing how CHARGE can be a collective voice for girls’ secondary education worldwide, and how education crosscuts key sectors such as health, the economy, and even climate change. For example, the longer girls attend school the longer the delay in childbearing and marriage which has significant impact on their long-term economic and social progress. With respect to climate change, Eric Streissnig et al found that “education (and in particular female education) is the single most important social and economic factor associated with a reduction in vulnerability to natural disasters.” Increased attention on girls’ education has the potential to strengthen the success and sustainability of program outcomes across development sectors. Girls CHARGE aims to link these various sectors to one another, with girls’ secondary education at the forefront.
As a result of the collective Girls CHARGE partner commitments, by 2019:
- More than 3,300 schools and 38 countries will have improved policies on school safety;
- Over 190,000 teachers will have received training to improve the quality of learning for students;
- Nearly 290,000 girls will have been supported in their transition to secondary, higher education or the workforce;
- More than 80,000 leaders in developing countries will have been supported to help catalyze change in girls’ education;
- Nearly 5 million girls will become enrolled in school; and
- More than 2 million girls will have improved learning outcomes
- Together the collaborative is working in 40 countries in Asia, Central America, Eurasia, South America, and sub-Saharan Africa.
We will keep you updated on IIE’s HER program and our CHARGE involvement!