Alleviating Poverty by Investing in Women and Girls

Founded in 1976, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) describes itself as "thought leaders driven by a passion to alleviate poverty and rectify injustice in the world." The Center "reduces global poverty by investing in the lives of women and girls." In particular, ICRW works with girls and boys in their communities to delay marriages in areas where child marriage is an established tradition. In addition it educates policymakers on the adverse consequences of the practice for girls.

The ICRW also focuses on gender equality in agriculture. Time and again, the work of women farmers goes unrecognized. Not only are they often not paid for their farming, but many are not allowed to own land. Yet research demonstrates that women are instrumental in alleviating poverty and hunger when given access to land, equipment and credit as in most cases they are the ones who ensure food gets to their family.

The Center aims to improve the status of women, help protect their rights, ensure their access to reproductive information and healthcare, and increase their opportunities to be educated, hold jobs and own property. It is doing a great deal in these areas in more than 30 countries, as well as in fighting violence against women. Help the International Center for Research on Women in a variety of ways: for example, make a donation, sign up for their newsletter, or join their community.

Pink Stinks

The Pink Stinks website endorses a campaign "that challenges the culture of pink which invades every aspect of girls' lives." Their message is that "body image obsession is starting younger and younger, and that the seeds are sown during the pink stage, as young girls are taught the boundaries within which they will grow up, as well as narrow and damaging messages about what it is to be a girl." Pink Stinks and cooltobe.me, a non-profit organization that highlights female role models, have collaborated on a film featuring Isa Guha of the England women's cricket team. They seek to celebrate women who are "inspirational, important, ground-breaking and motivating" because "by presenting children with images of women... all shapes, sizes, colours and kinds, doing all sorts of amazing things... we can go some way to improving their self-esteem and self worth." Help promote positive gender roles: support Pink Stinks.