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Women play a myriad of roles in our lives, and yet, around the world, they are routinely and often systematically denied the rights that allow them to live in dignity. That's why CARE places a special focus on working alongside poor women. Equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.
The theme for International Women's Day 2005 is gender equality — something especially lacking in the developing world.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- Of the more than 1 billion people in the developing world who live on less than $1 a day, 70 percent are women.
- Two-thirds of the world's 876 million illiterate adults are women.
- Women produce half the world's food, but own only one percent of its farmland.
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| © 2003 Anne Heslop/CARE |
Despite advances toward equality for some women in some countries, so much more remains to be done. CARE knows from years of experience that helping a woman out of poverty means helping a family out of poverty. When women succeed, they work side by side with men to teach their children to sustain progress and nurture growth.
When a family is able to send its girls to school, those girls are more likely to marry later and have fewer and healthier babies.They are more productive people, economically and socially. Their children will grow up in more secure, stable households.
These are valid and compelling reasons for CARE to work toward empowerment and equity for women. However, there is another motivation to make the advancement of women and girls a priority in all we do. Simply put, women and girls have the inherent human right to be treated equally and to equally enjoy the opportunities that life has to offer. They also have the inherent ability to change their lives and their community — and you have the inherent ability to help them succeed.
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| © 2004 CARE/Fawn M. Anderson |
CARE knows that investing in women is key to successful, sustainable development. In more than 70 countries, CARE works with women, listening to their goals and designing projects that match their priorities, projects designed to improve health, education, land management and earning potential. CARE is helping women enrich their lives today and work toward a future free of poverty and discrimination.
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