For anyone who isn’t aware of this project, it is quite compelling. (Understatement of the century!) https://www.girleffect.org
- When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30%-40% for men.
- An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10-20%. An extra year of secondary school ups those wages by 15-25%.
- When a girl in the developing world receives 7 or more years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children.
The rather eye popping statistics above date back to 2011, but this pattern of girl empowerment and education creating a ‘virtuous cycle’ of benefit, resulting in a direct uplift in the welfare and economic potential of societies, is one that propels us in our own goals for You Before Two.
And as we celebrate the end of our Sexual Consent Workshop pilot which we took out to 308 children (171 girls and 137 boys), we have not been able to ignore the bounce and need of the girls as well as the boys. Following one of the male sessions, a boy wrote in his feedback ‘please tell our lasses what you have told us.’
In June this year Forbes magazine talked about the ‘girl effect’ permeating into another rather 
topical area: climate change. This article discussed the results from a huge piece of work produced by ‘Project Drawdown’ led by top scientists who quantified the impact of 100 solutions to climate change. Apparently one of these solutions came as a ‘total surprise.’ This ‘total surprise’ was that ‘women appear to have a disproportionate share of decision making around what happens in the home, in terms of water, cooking, food and food waste, and how the homes are heated.’ They calculated that educating girls could reduce 51.48 gigatons (yes that’s a thing) of carbon emissions and giving women access to family planning resources can reduce this by another 59.6 gigatons. It is a marvel when scientists quantify the obvious. Another indication of the immense power and persuasion of proper research.
I can only see one issue with all this emphasis on the importance of female empowerment, and that is, what it is turning our young women into. What they feel they have to be, say, wear, do or achieve in order to be this new XX dynamo, who is apparently born with the genotype responsible for saving the planet and all who reign on it. We’ve read Rachel Simmons talk about what girls are now prepared to do to avoid looking weak (human) or uncool (normal) or making dumb mistakes (growing and learning). And Melinda Gates in her new book talks candidly about the narrow beamed laser that now defines a ‘successful’ woman and the restrictions this can place upon her. She writes that men tend to overestimate their ability and women, underestimate. And that fear of failure tends to be greater in women than men. The traits of softness and confidence are expected in women rather than just the confidence expected in men. Melinda sites that ‘women with self-confidence gained influence only when they also displayed the motivation to benefit others.’
We appreciate that a girl not fulfilling her potential holds untold consequences not just for herself, but for the society around her. And if one of these consequences is an unplanned child, especially at a very young age, there are endless statistics that support the fact her life becomes infinitely more difficult than it ever was before. But we also appreciate that there can be no girl without there also being a boy. I’m talking biology here, not hetero-normal stereotyping.
And I admit to finding hard line feminism rather confusing, especially if it leads to women ending up with a perceived greater power over men. What we risk being left with is a generation of terrified young men scared to approach their female peer group, which would obviously undermine the equality mission completely.
If I get a wolf whistle from a cloudy scaffold of ‘awright sweetheart,’ I am neither offended nor
annoyed, in fact I’m faintly flattered that (from a considerable height) I still appear attractive!
But maybe that’s just me. So, for whatever type of feminist you are, be it a male or a female one. Do it your way. I see it as a spectrum of feminism- a rainbow if you will- having a toe on any colour is enough, it all leads to the same pot of gold.
Michelle is an experienced operational and strategic senior manager with 10 years experience in the NHS. She is currently studying an MBA in Strategic Management and recently accomplished the Board Directors Programme. Michelle has an interest in the governance and development of services.
Kelly is a registered nurse and has had a varied career that has crossed both education and health and usually involved supporting young people. She joined You Before Two in its infancy, initially to support with delivering Workshop around Sexual Health and Contraception as that was her ‘day’ job at the time. She has more recently moved into a Safeguarding Children’s role in nursing and so has become the Safeguarding Lead at the charity. Its great to see how You Before Two has grown in the last 3 years and it’s a pleasure to be part of it.
Andrea is from Brazil. She emigrated to England around 15 years ago and she loves it. She has always worked with people in her life, and it is something that really fills her soul. During her early years in Brazil, she used to work as a volunteer in her church providing free soup for people in need and also visiting hospitals trying to cheer up those in need of a chat or a cuddle. She has always believed that we should help each other and now more than ever. We are living in a very busy world where sometimes even when you are surrounded by many people you are still feeling lonely. Therefore she believes that if she could help the next generation to go through life without all the worries and concerns that she had when she was that age, is just an amazing opportunity.
Fiona has over 20 years experience as a Solicitor. She is a Senior Partner for a firm in Rotherham. Fiona has an avid interest in education and supporting young people in an increasingly challenging world. She has a wealth of experience of being on charity boards and is You Before Two’s legal and policy expert. Fiona has been with You Before Two since its inception and is a dedicated and dynamic member of the team.
The day you stop learning is the day you stop living.