62 million girls are denied the right to education. Half a billion women cannot read. 155 countries still have laws that discriminate against women. This can change.
In honor of International Women’s Day today, The ONE Campaign has released their 2016 report Poverty is Sexist. International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. It is a fact that the only way we can end extreme poverty, create peace, security and prosperity around the world is by improving the lives of women and girls around the globe. If you can do one thing today to help improve the lives of women and girls around the world, you can use the power of your voice and sign this letter here.
The letter is about how poverty is sexist, and urges world leaders to embrace development policies that invest in girls and women. The list of signers includes Bono, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Sheryl Sandberg, Elton John, Oprah Winfrey, Shonda Rhimes, Danai Gurira, Rocky Dawuni, Mary J. Blige, Melinda Gates and more. I am adding my name today and I urge you to add yours as well.
If you have been a regular reader of my blog, you know that I am a huge supporter of improving the rights of women and girls and all people living in extreme poverty. I became passionate about my advocacy work on social good as I began to travel more and see firsthand the injustices around the world. The more I traveled and saw, the more I could not turn away from the fact that billions of people around the world – especially women and girls – are denied the same rights and opportunities as me. As citizens of the developed world, we all have a voice in democracy and can help advocate for legislation and funding that improves the lives of billions. It is a powerful gift that we are so fortunate to have and should not be wasted.
