Why does the Soroptimist mission focus on improving the lives of women and girls?
Soroptimist means “best for women” and this is what the organization has tried to be since its founding in 1921. Soroptimist is a volunteer organization of business and professional women who strive to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. This is the goal because women and girls need our help. Both men and women and girls and boys live in poverty, face discrimination and have to overcome obstacles. But, throughout history, in every country in the world, women and girls face additional obstacles and discrimination because of their gender. The facts are clear:
Women:
- One in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime.
- Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours but earn only 10 percent of the world’s income, and own less than one percent of the world’s property.
- Of a total of 550 million working poor, 330 million (60 percent) are women.
- Worldwide women’s unpaid care giving is worth up to $11 trillion annually.
- Two-thirds of the 759 million illiterate adults are women.
- Forty to seventy percent of female murder victims are killed by their husband or intimate partners.
- Nearly 130 million women worldwide have experience female genital cutting.
- Eight out of ten women workers are considered to be in vulnerable employment.
Girls:
- Of the more than 110 million children not in school, approximately 60 percent are girls.
- In some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls have HIV rates up to five times higher than adolescent boys.
- Pregnancies and childbirth-related health problems take the lives of nearly 146,000 teenage girls each year.
- Three million girls are at risk for female genital mutilation every year.
- Some studies show as many of 80 percent of girls have been harassed at school.
- One girl in every four never makes it past fifth grade.
- The average age of entry into prostitution for girls is 12 to 14.
- Children are also a vulnerable population. Why not focus on children instead of just girls?
It is true that children are a vulnerable population, often with little or no means to protect themselves. However, girl-children face unique challenges and struggles. Gender discrimination often begins at a young age—in some cases even before birth—and continues through the life span. Girl children are devalued and discriminated against around the world.
Currently, more than 70 percent of the 1.2 billion people living in abject poverty—on less than $1 a day—are women. For many, the cycle of poverty begins at a young age. In many cultures, girls are considered to have little or no value, and therefore poor families often opt not to educate their female children. Without an education, girls are less likely to find sustaining work at a living wage, and are more likely to remain poor throughout their lifetimes.
