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FEATURE STORYMarch 6, 2023

Girl Power! Driving Transformation in Western and Central Africa

Girl Power! Driving Transformation in Western and Central Africa

A teacher gives a lesson in a classroom in Mali, May 21, 2019. SWEDD accompanies young girls through schooling, training and education to enable them to reach their full potential.

Photo: Ollivier Girard/ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Despite progress, women and girls in Western and Central Africa have a 58% chance of not being enrolled in secondary school, a 20% chance of starting childbearing as a teenager, and can expect to earn less than their male counterparts.
  • ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group is investing in transformative solutions to promote gender equality across the region. Some interventions and reforms demonstrate why investing in women and girls is not only the right thing to do but is smart economics.
  • Fostering gender equality means working to address the norms, attitudes, and beliefs that hold back women and girls ¨C and that often means changing the minds and behaviors of men.

Empowering women and girls has transformational potential.