What do the G8 countries have in common?

Posting by proxy for our very own Vagabond who is currently enjoying Alaska from a hospital room window…

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Hlabisa, South Africa:  I asked a group of 12 male, (generally over 50 years old) Zulu Induna (traditional tribal leaders of the Zulu people, Kwa Zulu Natal) to name the “richest” countries in the world.  They did not hesitate to answer (and in this order): the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and Canada.  Perhaps you recognize this list of countries?  This is the same list of countries in the “Group of Eight” (however, they never mentioned Italy.)

 The “Group of Eight”, also known as the “G8”, is an international forum for the governments of the following countries:  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Together, these countries account for 65% of the world’s economic output (measured by gross domestic product), even though they only represent about 14% of the world population. The G8 also represent the majority of military power (most of the world’s nuclear weapons.) 

 Then someone mentioned China.  Good.  So, then, I asked this same group of local Zulu tribal leaders, “What do all these countries have in common?” 

We determined that it was not race, not politics, not religion, not language, not the climate zone, etc.  The Induna were stumped.  Good.

 Answer:  All of these countries allow, even encourage girls, the same access to education and jobs as boys.  Period.  This means they have the potential to earn as much as boys.  What better argument for educating girls? 

 I said to the Induna:  “Don’t take my word for it.  Do your own homework and you will see I speak the truth.”

 The Induna:  “Yes, we will look into this right away.” 

This is how social change starts.

 “If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.”     Plato (427 BC – 347 BC)

 Why is girls’ education important?

There are several compelling benefits associated with girls’ education, which include the reduction of child and maternal mortality, improvement of child nutrition and health, lower fertility rates, enhancement of women’s domestic role and their political participation, improvement of the economic productivity and growth, and protection of girls from HIV/AIDS, abuse and exploitation. Girls’ education yields some of the highest returns of all development investments, yielding both private and social benefits that accrue to individuals, families, and society at large by

• Reducing women’s fertility rates. Women with formal education are much more likely to use reliable family planning methods, delay marriage and childbearing, and have fewer and healthier babies than women with no formal education. It is estimated that one year of female schooling reduces fertility by 10 percent. The effect is particularly pronounced for secondary schooling.
   
• Lowering infant and child mortality rates. Women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care, ensure their children are immunized, be better informed about their children’s nutritional requirements, and adopt improved sanitation practices. As a result, their infants and children have higher survival rates and tend to be healthier and better nourished.
   
• Lowering maternal mortality rates. Women with formal education tend to have better knowledge about health care practices, are less likely to become pregnant at a very young age, tend to have fewer, better-spaced pregnancies, and seek pre- and post-natal care. It is estimated that an additional year of schooling for 1,000 women helps prevent two maternal deaths.
   
• Protecting against HIV/AIDS infection. Girls’ education ranks among the most powerful tools for reducing girls’ vulnerability. It slows and reduces the spread of HIV/AIDS by contributing to female economic independence, delayed marriage, family planning, and work outside the home, as well as conveying greater information about the disease and how to prevent it.
   
• Increasing women’s labor force participation rates and earnings. Education has been proven to increase income for wage earners and increase productivity for employers, yielding benefits for the community and society.
   
• Creating intergenerational education benefits. Mothers’ education is a significant variable affecting children’s education attainment and opportunities. A mother with a few years of formal education is considerably more likely to send her children to school. In many countries each additional year of formal education completed by a mother translates into her children remaining in school for an additional one-third to one-half year.

Girls’ education and the promotion of gender equality in education are vital to development, and policies and actions that do not address gender disparities miss critical development opportunities.

Educating girls is an essential part of winning the fight against global poverty. On average, an educated girl boosts the income of her family and her community; has fewer, more healthy children; and is less likely to contract HIV/AIDS.

The benefits of girls’ education extend beyond the local community. Studies show that increasing the number of educated girls in a country fosters economic growth, promotes political stability and reduces health care costs.  For example, more productive farming due to increased female education accounts for 43 percent of the decline in malnutrition achieved between 1970 and 1995.

Around the world, there are more than 93 million children out of school – 60 million of these children are girls. In sub-Saharan Africa, only one in four girls is enrolled in secondary school.

The exclusion of girls from education has a devastating impact on their health, self-esteem and financial security. Uneducated women tend to marry young. They are at higher risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth. Their risk of contracting HIV rises sharply. And women who have never had the chance to go to school have extremely limited earning potential, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

Send a girl to school and the benefits are multiplied across her whole community. Research has shown that girls who complete primary and secondary education tend to marry later, have smaller families and earn significantly higher wages. For each additional year of a mother’s education, child mortality is reduced by 8%. And educated women are three times more likely to protect themselves against HIV and Aids than those with no education.

The third millennium development goal, agreed to by world leaders in 2000, set the ambitious target of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005. However, the gap between girls’ and boys’ education in terms of enrolment and academic performance is still substantial. Only one in three countries had equal numbers of girls and boys in secondary school by 2005.

Using your own research backed up with facts and figures, you are invited to examine the impact of girls’ education on one of the following issues: eradicating poverty, reducing child and maternal mortality, or preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS.