Education for Women: World Bank to Invest $2.5 Billion

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are conducting their spring meeting this week in Washington. Announcements of major new initiatives are always expected after these meetings, but one has many people around the world very excited. This week, the World Bank announced its plan to invest $2.5 billion in girls’ and young women’s education.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are conducting their spring meeting this week in Washington. Announcements of major new initiatives are always expected after these meetings, but one has many people around the world very excited. This week, the World Bank announced its plan to invest $2.5 billion in girls’ and young women’s education.

The contributions will be made through Michelle and Barack Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” organization. The charity expects to get 62 million girls and young women from around the world into schools, and keep them there until the completion of their education. The charity will receive the World Bank’s contribution over the next five years.

According to a study conducted by the World Bank, females who stay in school earn an average of 18% more for each additional year that they complete in secondary school. The study also showed that women that are more educated “tend to be healthier, participate more in the formal labor market, earn more income, give birth to fewer children, marry at a later age, and provide better health care and education to their children.”

While the health and welfare of women is an important issue, the World Bank’s primary focus is on economic empowerment. According to Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, these initiatives do just that: empowering women through education, and empowering their respective nations because of the improved economic power these women bring to the table.

“Empowering and educating adolescent girls is one of the best ways to stop poverty from being passed from generation to generation, and can be transformational for entire societies.”  “This increased funding will help provide countries, especially in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with the tools to expand access to quality education so that all adolescent girls can go to school and reach their full potential.”

As far as economic development initiatives go, it is hard to argue with the World Bank’s logic. If a nation wants to build its economy, empowering half of that nation’s population to improve its earning potential and increase its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is the most sensible way to do it.

“You don’t have to be an economist here at the World Bank to know that unleashing the full economic potential of half the population can drive the growth and prosperity of nations,” Kim said.