"The surest way to keep a people down is to educate the men and neglect the women. If you educate a man you simply educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family."
- Dr. J. E. Kwegyir Aggrey, a visionary Ghanian educator (1875–1927)

"When girls' are educated, they are more likely to earn higher wages and obtain better jobs, to have fewer and healthier children and to enjoy safer childbirth."
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
   Message on World Population Day, 2009

"There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women."
- Kofi Annan

In many parts of the world, women are routinely beaten, raped or sold into prostitution. They are denied access to medical care and education. Sadly, only 43 per cent of girls in developing regions attend secondary school and in sub-Saharan Africa only 83 girls are enrolled in school for every 100 boys.

According to the World Bank, an extra year of school can increase a girl’s future earnings by 10 to 20 per cent and girls who attend secondary school have the power to make $2000 more per year than those who only attend primary school – now multiply that by all of the out of school girls and the impact on development is enormous.

TBSF has begun to work with the private sector and a number of national and global organizations to encourage G8 and G20 leaders to elevate the importance of political empowerment and economic freedom for girls and women in developed and developing nations. At the Clinton Global Initiative in September of 2009, TBSF made a commitment to Promoting Development in the G8/G20 Summit Process. TBSF committed to create a platform that aims to provide greater coordination of global advocacy efforts for the 2010 G8/G20 Summits and to promote and educate the Canadian public on development issues. As an engaged Canadian charitable organization with a track record on global development issues and a strong capacity in policy management and public communications, we will work with strategic partners to champion key issues affecting girls and women and provide opportunities for the public to lend their support to their advancement worldwide.

Click to learn more about the TBSF commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative.

There are a number of initiatives focused on the advancement of girls and women. Here are a few of them:

New York Times
August 17, 2009
The Women’s Crusade

The Globe and Mail
September 22, 2009
Investing in Girls Pays Off in Social and Economic Progress

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Message from Belinda Stronach on the occasion of International Women's Day 2010

International Women's Day is a day to recognize the economic, political and social achievements of women past and present. The theme this year Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all reflects the fact that when you empower a woman, you empower her family, her community and her country.

Here in Canada, while we continue to have challenges around the advancement of girls and women, we can see the impact women have had on the development of Canada as a peaceful, stable and just society.

In developing countries one person in eight is a girl or a young woman age 10 to 24. These girls and women possess the ability to become fully engaged citizens if given the opportunity. We can start by providing them with education, legal protection, health care, and access to training and job skills. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the architects of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, has identified the education of girls at secondary school age as one of the most effective ways to increase real measurable impact in global development.

A girl who finishes high school has access to a job that pays more than subsistence wages and the chance to start a small business. Educated women invest 90% of their incomes into their families compared to roughly 30% by their male counterparts.

As our nation prepares to host both the G8 and G20 Summits in June 2010, Canada must use this historic opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the advancement of girls and women worldwide. Canada must take the lead and put girls and women at the centre of the development narrative. Doing so will yield huge returns in global economic development and political stability.