“We can’t expect to hold back the potential of one half of our world and believe we will have the same progress and balance as we would if all people have the option to realize their potential.
Let’s look at how we cut off the potential around the world for girls and women:
• 60 percent of the world’s one billion poorest people are female;
• women work two-thirds of working hours, but earn only 10 percent of the world’s income;
• one woman dies every minute of every day during pregnancy or in childbirth; and
• nearly two-thirds of children out of school are girls.
No matter how you measure it, women and girls bear the brunt of poverty. But women are also our greatest hope for ending poverty and for bringing greater balance, peace, and prosperity to our world.”
— Helene D. Gayle, president and CEO of the international humanitarian organization CARE USA, speaking at the commencement ceremony at Oberlin College in Ohio, May 30, 2011