U.S. Agency for International Development issued the following announcement on March 8.
Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate achievements on the journey to gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world.
No country can succeed if it excludes the talents and voices of half its population. At USAID, we believe gender equality and women’s empowerment are not just a part of development, but are the core of development. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that keep women from reaching their full potential.
Around the world nearly 62 million girls between the ages of five and 16 are not in school. Globally, one in three women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. In the developing world, one in seven girls is married before her 15th birthday.
Each year more than 303,000 women — 99 percent of them in developing countries — die in pregnancy and from childbirth-related complications, and over 200,000 die from cervical cancer.
While women make up more than 40 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, less than 20 percent are landholders.
And despite representing half the global population, women account for less than 20 percent of the world’s legislators.
Investing in women and girls is essential to strengthening the self-reliance of our partner countries and transforming communities:
Women reinvest 90 cents of every dollar they make back into their families and communities. When women do better, families do better, communities do better, and countries do better.
So, on this International Women’s Day, I invite our partners, the private sector, and people around the globe to join us in supporting efforts to empower women, and create greater economic opportunities and stability for all.
Original source: https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/mar-8-2018-statement-administrator-green-international-womens-day
