100 Million Reasons to Act for Girls
Girls Get Equal is Plan International’s new global girl-led campaign* for gender equality, which aims at ensuring every girl and young woman has power over her own life and can shape the world around her. We are aiming to change the way girls are valued in society so they no longer have to face injustice and oppression.
Plan International has a bold new ambition:Together, we are taking action so that 100 million girls can Learn, Lead, Decide and Thrive.
We will work with all children, our partners and supporters over the next 5 years to help 100 million girls transform their lives.
*The global campaign to transform girls’ lives through education, Because I am a Girl, ran from 2012 to 2018.
Learn
- Governments invest in more children completing secondary education;
- Children, especially girls, in conflict and emergency settings are educated in safety;
- Young people have the knowledge and opportunities to earn and manage money.
Lead
- Children and young people have a stronger voice;
- Decision-makers build ways for them to voice their opinions;
- Governments establish and enforce laws that advance their rights.
Decide
- Communities eliminate harmful practices like child marriage and female genital mutilation;
- Governments act for adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights;
- Young people have access to quality sexual health services and sex education.
Thrive
- They receive the care they need to be healthy, educated and protected;
- Governments and communities work together to end violence;
- Governments prevent and respond to violence against children.
Results for Children
We will work to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and boys, but girls are disproportionately disadvantaged compared to boys, whether in education, health, work or family life. By challenging the root causes of inequalities we will achieve large-scale changes, because gender equality will secure a better world for all children.
100 Million Reasons to Act
Girls have the power to change the world, but at current rates of change, it will take decades for girls and boys to be treated as equals. There are so many more girls we can work with to secure their rights and achieve their dreams. Working with our partners, young people and supporters, Plan International is scaling up our global efforts to achieve equality for girls.
Together, we will achieve something amazing by 2022.
Global Goal
Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Why Girls?
Our ongoing research shows that many girls in the developing world face double discrimination because of their gender and age, leaving them to languish at the bottom of the social ladder. They are often denied access to health services and education, and succumb to violence, abuse, and harassment. Working with our partners, young people and supporters, we pledged to promote girls’ voices and visibility, influence major policy outcomes based on their priorities and drive investments in their futures.
Girls’ Power
- For every extra year a girl stays in school, her future income can increase by 11%
- When a girl in the developing world receives 7 years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer, healthier children
- Globally, if all women completed primary education, there would be 66% fewer maternal deaths
- If women played an identical role in labour markets to that of men, as much as US$ 28 trillion could be added to global annual GDP by 2025