goal3worksheet

One World Youth Project

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

“Promoting gender equality means ensuring that women have the same chances as men to improve their lives, and the lives of their families. Evidence that women don’t have the same opportunities as men is apparent from the fact that two-thirds of the 880 million illiterate adults in the world are women, that women are less likely to be employed than men, and only 15% of parliamentary seats and 6% of Cabinet posts are held by women. One of the targets for Goal 3 is to eliminate gender inequality in primary and secondary school enrollment by 2005, and in all levels of education by 2015. This means that equal numbers of girls and boys should be enrolled in primary and secondary school by 2005 and that equal numbers of men and women should be enrolled in higher levels of education by 2015. No progress on the Millennium Development Goals can be made unless radical changes are made to ensure that women have the same rights as men. Every single Goal is directly related to women’s rights. Studies have repeatedly shown that investing in girls’ education raises every index of progress towards economic growth and development. Women with a basic education have fewer children, contract HIV/AIDS at dramatically lower rates, and are far less likely to remain in poverty.”

Source: United Nations Cyber School Bus Millennium Development Campaign

SEE

What role does gender play in your community? Do you feel women and men have equal rights in your community? Why or why not?

If you are female, do you feel empowered? How do you think other women in your community feel about gender equality, discrimination, and empowerment?

Do females in your community have equal access to education and employment? Explain.

REFLECT

Look at the answers to your questions above. Based on your responses, do you feel as though gender equality and women’s empowerment is an issue that should be addressed in your community? Why or why not?

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ACT

How could you help achieve UN Millennium Development Goal 3? If you feel gender equality and women’s empowerment is an issue in your community, what could you do to help? Or, what could you do locally to help empower women globally?

Can you think of a project you and your peers might be able to design and implement in your community in order to help reach Goal 3?

INSPIRE

“One of the most successful methods of helping women lift themselves out of poverty was started by Mohammed Yunus, an economist from Bangladesh who founded the Grameen Bank in 1983 to provide micro-credit (loans of very small amounts) to the rural poor. Yunus found that women were far more reliable in paying back their loans than men. Women worked together and supported each other to make their interest payments. Yunus became a legend in the development world as a result of his achievement but he would be the first to say it was the really the achievement of thousands of poor women who proved that women are effective agents of development.”

Source of inspirational stories: United Nations Cyber School Bus Millennium Development Campaign

One World Youth Project Curriculum www.oneworldyouthproject.org