Explores link between women's exclusion from education and all other forms of gender inequality.

May 15, 2008
Contact: Jessica Levinson, Communications Director
215-893-9000 x129

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—As college women throughout the country prepare for graduation this month, Soroptimist—an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls—releases a new white paper that examines education as a gender issue.

“Women and Education” provides an in-depth look at how educating women directly impacts their financial status, health and social wellbeing. The paper also explores how exclusion from education is closely tied to all other forms of gender inequality. This exclusive white paper is now available to the public on the Soroptimist website at Soroptimist.org/whitepapers/wp_education.html.

“We know that educating women has ripple effects. Educated women have more economic opportunities, which benefits the women, her family, her community and even the world at large,” said Soroptimist’s Executive Director Leigh Wintz. “But sadly, millions of girls throughout the world are still denied this basic human right—the right to learn.”

According to the white paper “60 million girls are denied the right to education, and millions more receive educations inferior to those received by boys. Two-thirds of the world’s 862 million illiterates are women.”

Despite the grim statistics, women and girls have gained ground. Research shows that in all developed countries, females are now outpacing their male counterparts with respect to educational achievements. In fact, as stated in “Education in a Changing World,” an article published in Soroptimist’s Best for Women magazine, “girls now do better in school than boys in almost all countries.”

While women have made important advances in educational achievement, serious barriers continue to prevent a level playing field.

“In this country, we often take the right to education for granted,” said Wintz. “The reality is that around the world, and even here in the U.S., many women do not have the resources they need to obtain an education—which ultimately prevents them from improving life for themselves and their families.”

Women’s education has been a long-time focus for Soroptimist. The organization’s major project, the Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Awards, provides cash grants for head-of-household women seeking to improve their lives with the help of education and training. Each year, more than $1 million is disbursed through the Women’s Opportunity Awards program, empowering women throughout the world to reach for their dreams. Visit Soroptimist.org/awards/awards.html for more information on the program.

The white paper’s recommendations for eliminating gender disparity in education include: ending child labor; providing gender-sensitive textbooks; training more female teachers; building schools closer to girls’ homes; and working with local governments to ensure the creation and maintenance of laws that benefit underprivileged women and girls.

Read the whitepaper

In addition to the Women’s Opportunity Awards, Soroptimist—headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa.—also sponsors the Live Your Dream campaign in recognition of the power of women and their dreams. Visit the campaign’s online home at: LiveYourDreamCampaign.org. A 501(c)(3) organization, Soroptimist is a recipient of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations’ Seal of Excellence. For more information on how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit Soroptimist.org.