This documentpresents a FactSheet describing VGIF's activities in the area of economic development and empowerment
- Improving women's and girls' economic status is one of the most powerful tools for advancing their rights and improving their lives.
- As women and girls increase their economic standing and status within their communities, society as a whole shares the benefits, from rising economic growth to improved public health outcomes.
- Women make up the majority of the estimated 1 billion people living in poverty worldwide, so efforts to increase their access to education and training, jobs, and economic opportunities is a vital step in promoting development and pulling nations and communities out of poverty.
- Despite the many educational advances that women have made in recent decades, gender inequality in the world of work persists. Since the 1990s, women's labor force participation has stagnated. Globally, only 55% of females ages 15-64 are in the work force, compared to around 80% of males.
- On average, women receive lower pay than their male counterparts and are often relegated to lower-skilled, lower-wage jobs.
- Women comprise an estimated 43% of the agricultural work force in developing countries, but have less access to training, are less likely to own or have rights to own land, and produce lower yields than male farmers.
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- Copyright 2014 by Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund. All rights reserved.
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