Why women: 6 reasons why investing in women will help end poverty (Part 2 of 2)

This post was originally published by Empower Generation, which merged with Pollinate Energy to form Pollinate Group in 2018.

Written by Amira Ibrahim.

1. Empowering women raises economic productivity. Although women make up 43% of the agriculture labor force and are less likely to own land (and own fewer amounts of land when they do own), when women have the same amount of land as men, there is over a 10% increase in crop yields. Economies with women as active participants have grown rapidly and dramatically outperformed those that have not. In business, empowering women leads to a more productive labor force, an improvement in the quality of global supply chains and the expansion of customer bases as women have a better understanding of other female consumers.
2. Women leaders make the world a fair place. Countries where women’s share of seats in political bodies is greater than 30% are more inclusive, egalitarian and democratic. Women are more likely to prevent conflict and achieve reconciliation after conflict has ended.
3. Educating women about health care prevents child mortality and promotes healthier families. Women who are educated are more likely to have fewer and healthier children. When a woman is educated about health care, she will go to the doctor regularly during a pregnancy. As a result, she will have fewer complications and she will deliver her baby in safer conditions for herself and the child. HIV/AIDS spreads twice as quickly among uneducated girls than among girls that have even some schooling. Poor maternal health reduces women’s capacity to work and limits their ability to generate income.

Women are already working hard to pull themselves and their families out of poverty – women work two-thirds of the world’s work hours, produce half of the world’s food. But the task is large. Organizations, like Empower Generation, are working hard to ensure that women have the tools they need to help their communities get access to energy. This access leads to educational, health and economic opportunity for all. We are pretty sure that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.