Girls: Future Investment

From ABC Online:

A new report says investing in girls is one of the best ways to end poverty, because women who are educated are likely to reinvest up to 90 per cent of their income in their family.

The report by Plan International Australia shows young women are the first to lose their jobs or have their education stopped so they can be placed in domestic work during an economic crisis.

Plan has been studying 140 girls since birth. The girls come from nine countries across the developing world.

Plan chief executive Ian Wishart says the report, called Because I am a Girl, shows many countries still have the attitude that girls are not as important as boys.

Mr Wishart is urging Australian corporations to encourage the equal participation of girls and young women in their offshore operations.

"For Australian corporates the message is if you're operating offshore, make sure that you have policies that encourage equal participation of girls and boys, or young women and young men, in your business, and make sure your supply chains do the same," he said.