This morning at New York City's historic Apollo Theater, more than 1,000 girls gathered at Glamour's "The Power of an Educated Girl" panel—presented by Maybelline New York and the Harnisch Foundation—where First Lady Michelle Obama, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Plan International girl advocate Nurfahada, and actress Charlize Theron spoke about the importance of girls' education around the world. Emceed by Sophia Bush, the panel was preceded by a performance by Norwegian pop duo Nico & Vinz and introductory remarks by Maybelline New York VP Anne-Marie Nelson Bogle and Apollo Foundation president and CEO Jonelle Procope.
"There are over 62 million girls around the world who want an education—and can't get it," Bush told the audience. "Today we're going to talk about what we can do to change all of that. Everyone in this room can do something to help—we really want you to think about that—every single one of you is powerful enough to help change the world"
A photo posted by Nico & Vinz (@nicoandvinz) on Sep 29, 2015 at 8:09am PDT
Since early 2014, Gillard has served as the chair of the Global Partnership for Education, an organization established in 2002 dedicated to supporting developing countries to "ensure that every child receives a quality basic education" with priority going to "the poorest, most vulnerable and those living in fragile and conflict-affected countries."
"I know education has made my life," Gillard told the audience about her own interest in raising awareness for the cause. "So I'm passionate about ensuring that every girl around the world has the same opportunities."
And even though the state of girls' education is still sorely lacking around the world—"There is so much we need to do for the 62 million girls," she says—the reality is that offering up the chance to learn doesn't cost very much at all.
"Your voices are very strong," Gillard said. "Direct them to world leaders. What you should say to those leaders is that it costs, on average, $1.18 to educate a girl in a developing country in primary or secondary school each day. Developing countries are already financing this cost at 88 percent—which means that [they need only] 14 cents for each of these girls each day. That's got to be doable."
Sometimes it's not just putting money behind projects—it's making small cultural shifts that can affect great change. "In Afghanistan, we're working to get more girls into schools," Gillard said. "More than 40 percent of the students in schools are girls—and more than 30 percent of teachers are women. [We found that] families are much more likely to send their girls to school if they're being taught by a female teacher. If we can make change there, we can make change in so many places around the world."
Oscar-winning U.N. Messenger of Peace South Africa-born Charlize Theron founded the Africa Outreach Project in 2007 to provide support to organizations working to help keep African youth safe from HIV/AIDS. Turns out, the correlation between education and HIV infection can no longer be ignored.
"Something as vital as education should not be left up to the lottery of geography or gender," Theron said. "Most of the problems we have in the world are because half the population doesn't have access to education. Stopping AIDS lies within education—they're so interconnected, you can't do one without the other."
Growing up in a country where more people are infected with HIV than anywhere else in the world, Theron has taken the fight for women's education to heart. "For me, it's very personal," she said. "HIV is the number-one killer of African adolescents—and education is a social vaccine against HIV. But [when I learned that] girls are eight times more likely to be infected by HIV [than boys, it means], girls are being left behind."
Over the past few decades in the development community, it's become abundantly clear that helping women and girls tends to greatly benefit families, regions, and, in turn, entire countries—and Theron agrees.
"Every time I see a young girl not being taken for granted and given the equal rights she deserves, I see an improvement in the family and home, I see an improvement in the environment, and in her village," Theron said. "It enriches everybody she touches—it enriches the socio-economic structure, the country is going to benefit."
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let Girls Learn, a government-wide initiative that supports and encourages "community-led solutions to reduce barriers that prevent adolescent girls from completing their education."
Charlize Theron and Michelle Obama at Glamour's "The Power of an Educated Girl" panel (photo: Getty Images)
"For me, this is personal," the First Lady said. "When I think about the 62 million girls not in school, I think of myself and my daughters—all my girls, all our girls. I think about where I would be in my life if I didn't work hard in school and had the opportunity to go to college and law school. I wouldn't be here. It's imperative—and it's my passion and my mission—that every girl on the planet has the same opportunity that I have and my daughters have. And I want to make sure that all of you here in the United States are taking advantage of the opportunities that you have as well. Get that education because it will be the key to your future."
As for the Let Girls Learn community-based approach to finding a solution to getting and keeping girls in education, "There's no one reason why girls are not in school," the First Lady said. "It really varies from community to community. It could be issues of teen pregnancy—or early marriage in another part of the world. It could be a fundamental mindset—that fathers, leaders, or mothers don't believe that girls are as worthy as boys... We're trying to raise awareness about the plight of these 62 million girls. We want to use this message to inspire kids at home."
To the girls in the room, Mrs. Obama offered this advice: "I want to encourage all of us as young women—and older women—we have to raise our own bars. You won't be successful hanging out with people who drag you down.... There is no boy at this age who is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education."
The First Lady encouraged the 1,000+ young women in the audience to take to social media, snap a selfie, and write in the caption: "What I learned in school is _______" accompanied by the hashtag #62million. She also reminded us that change for the better doesn't always happen overnight.
"One thing I'll say about change is that change happens incrementally," Mrs. Obama said. "Sometimes we think, in this world change is big. But the only thing that happens quickly is disaster. Change for the positive oftentimes is incremental—person by person, step by step. It's hard, boring, tedious work—moving an issue forward a little more and a little bit more. But we can't be discouraged. Solving this problem will take generations—it's going to take the work of your children and your grandchildren. We can't give up, we can't afford to. Use your voices, use your platforms—roll up your sleeves, find creative ways to reach out to the millions of girls all over the world looking to you to be their role models."
To learn more about girls' education initiatives, check out Glamour's The Girl Project and the White House's Let Girls Learn initiative. Follow the conversation on social media with hashtags #GlamourForEdu, #62MillionGirls, and #LetGirlsLearn.
